PK Lovin'
by classycloudcuckoolanderclasso
Summary: Mother 3/Earthbound crossover. Paula Polestar was a strange young lady. But then again, he wasn't exactly normal himself. Interconnected oneshots about Paula Polestar and Claus, the Masked Man, and the strange relationship they form as she ends up in a time that is not her own.
1. A Masked Man and His Girl

**I: A Masked Man and His Girl**

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Even in slumber, she refused to look less than presentable.

Not that he was observing all her movements, of course, that would be rather inappropriate. However, the fact that she moved with an air of elegance and grace did not escape the gaze of the Pigmasks that worked directly under him, and some of the higher-ranking ones confessed that they were unable to tear their gazes away from the way she seemed to glide to and fro, supposedly skittish, but looking more like a lost phantasm, drifting all around restlessly, each step airy and light.

Those Pigmasks were immediately sent to the mines to work as punishment, obviously. Despite their incessant squealing, the Masked Man paid them no heed. They, after all, had no right to look at her that way.

… Where had _that_ come from?

Shaking his head, he trained his gaze back on her pink clad form, curled up into a ball on the cot provided for her. Her blonde hair was splayed out almost artistically all around her head, her trademark red bow now just a very long ribbon, discarded and thrown to the side haphazardly. Her body was curled up in a fetal position, arms wrapped around her torso in a feeble attempt to keep warm, the silver bracelet blinking red on her wrist indicating that it was still working. Lips like red roses twitched into a frown every so often, eyebrows creasing; a nightmare, or twenty. He could feel the darkness plaguing her mind, even if he had been all the way over on the other side of the room; psionic powers did have its own benefits sometimes.

Idly, he wondered what it would be like to hold her hand.

Moments later, he almost shot himself in the stomach for even thinking of such an outlandish thought.

She was a prisoner; a PSI user that snuck onto one of the ships retrieving items for King Porky's collection, trying to get to King Porky. For what reason, he hadn't really pried out of her yet, nor was he depraved enough to pry it out of her brain with PSI.

Today marked the end of the first month since he had been sent to apprehend Paula Polestar at the Docking Station P4-U4.

* * *

 _"Commander, Commander! Oink!"_

 _Heterochromic eyes opened up disinterestedly at the call. The Pigmask Major standing in front of him looked incredibly worried, oinking rather noisily as they waved their arms up and down, stammering, "C-Commander, t-t-there's a- t-there's an- g-g-g-"_

 _"Spit it out, Major." His voice was gruff, but not gruff enough that one would have mistaken him for a fully grown man. Nay; he was but a boy, sixteen at least, eighteen at best, but none dared ask him for his true age. Not that he knew personally, anyway; for him, his life started the moment he opened mismatched eyes under the cold glare of the light beaming down on the metal table, Doctor Andonuts's face staring down at him in a proud but sad fashion._

 _That had been about five years ago. His body had matured since then, and with maturation came upgrades._

 _The Pigmask Major oinked one more time, startled, before clearing their throat, straightening out and saluting him. "Commander, sir, there's a foreign entity attacking the Pigmasks at docking station P4-U4. We have reason to suspect that they are not alone in their endeavor, but we may have… erm…" At this, they sounded abashed. "We may have accidentally thrown them out while discarding trash on the way here and left the one in the ship."_

 _Figures; these Pigmasks were so inept sometimes. Still, if there were more, and they were literally disposed of mid-flight, then they were most likely dead. That left only the one rabble-rouser at the docking station._

 _The Masked Man nodded curtly. "Give me a moment. I'll be right there." At this, the Pigmask saluted again before scurrying off, presumably to report their findings to the rest of the Pigmasks in the vicinity. Left to his own devices once more, the Masked Man stood up from his relaxed position on his cot, stretching, before picking up the helmet that had given him his title and placing it over his head, the cold metal slipping down and securing itself around his head, a shadow soon being cast over his eyes. He then picked up his sword, sheathing it, before turning to the window._

 _Large cloth wings with metal framework soon burst from his back, spreading out menacingly as he ran towards the open window._

 ** _No no no no no no no no he didn't practice this he shouldn't have opened his wings inside this was a bad idea oh Pork no not this AGAIN-_**

 _The Commander's boot left the windowsill, and he soared effortlessly, startling most of the Pigmasks below him into a symphony of oinking. Once he was certain he was flying smoothly, he sighed in relief, affixing the coordinates for docking station P4-U4 into his mind, which allowed his body to mechanically focus on getting to the place while allowing him to think other things._

 _Despite being the Commander of the Pigmask Army, he WAS still technically a teenage boy. A teenage boy still going through the final stages of puberty, which meant he was still in the stage where he was still rather awkward with his body, which was horrendously lanky, but well-built due to the training he underwent. The wings he currently had were a recent upgrade, meant to take into account his new body mass, which meant he still wasn't quite used to them._

 _Suddenly, something exploded at docking bay P4-U4._

 _Ah. There it was._

 _Training his gaze on the mess, his scanners identified every single Pigmask running amok, oinking like crazy… while their arms were both encased in ice?_

 _Nay, only a few had body parts encased in ice; some had their rear ends on fire, others were blackened by soot, as if hit by lightning. One unfortunate Pigmask looked to be on the receiving end of all three, with fire on his mask, his rear end black and sooty, and his legs encased in solid ice. The poor army man was shivering behind a stack of crates, hiding, and it was this Pigmask that the Masked Man chose to talk to, descending behind him as quietly as possible, so as not to alert the intruder._

 _"You. Colonel." The Pigmask oinked loudly in surprise, rolling over. The Masked Man groaned and shushed him. "Shhh, be quiet! You'll alert the intruder's presence, you idiot!"_

 _"Many pardons, Commander, sir!" The Colonel attempted to salute, but sighed, remembering the situation. "Erm, but, pardon me for asking, sir, but why are you here, talking to me?"_

 _The Masked Man gave the Colonel a look. "Gathering intel. Now tell me; who is this intruder? What are they capable of?"_

 _"A young girl, Commander. Possibly around your age."_ _ **Impossible. I'm only around five- ah. No.**_

 _"My physical age, you mean."_

 _"Y-yes sir!" The Pigmask nodded rapidly. "She looks to be a PSI user, sir; based on personal experience sir, she knows Fire, Freeze, and Thunder, sir! As you can see…" The Pigmask gestured helplessly to the dying embers on the mask, the melting ice around their legs, and the sooty rear end they possessed._

 _A gloved hand immediately grabbed his sword. "You've done well, Colonel. Once you've recovered from the ice, go and call for Doctor Andonuts. I require his assistance after this."_

 _"Y-yes sir!" Pause. "W-wait, you're going to-"_

 _"I'm dealing with this intruder myself." The sword glinted in the sunlight. "I can't really trust pigs to do a man's job."_

* * *

 _Minutes later, the Masked Man had an unconscious blonde haired girl in his arms, who he carried bridal style, his sword tucked away in its sheath once more._

 _The Pigmasks all clapped as he spread his wings once more, taking flight, heading back to the base with little care for the cheering army below him, inputting the base's coordinates once more into his mind before turning his focus back to the blonde in his arms._

 _Her skin was fair, though a lot paler than his in comparison. Her hair was teased into gentle curls, which lapped at her collarbone and his cheek every so often as the wind blew by. The red bow she wore was tattered and torn, but it wasn't too unpresentable, and her pink dress, which only seemed to reach up to above her knees, was simple and plain, collared with white. Her eyelashes fluttered in the wind as she slept soundly in his arms, practically dead to the world._

 _Emerald and ruby eyes blinked, and then trained themselves back on the route back to base. Doctor Andonuts would know what to do with her; he always knew what to do with intruders._

 _"Commander, sir, I brought Doctor Andonuts!" The Pigmask he had been talking to previously hollered, making him wince internally at the piercing sound. As his boots touched the ground, said scientist hopped his way over to him, looking rather stoic._

 _"An intruder at docking station P4-U4. I trust you'll know what to do with her, Doctor Andonuts." The Masked Man couldn't help but notice the glimmer of recognition in the old man's eyes behind his spectacles as he took in the PSI user in his arms. Then, shaking his head, he nodded curtly. "I'll see what I can do to make sure she doesn't fight against the Pigmask Army."_

 _"…" The girl stirred a little in his arms, and then buried her face into his chest, mumbling something incoherently._

 _Doctor Andonuts raised an eyebrow at this. "Er, if you want, I could just-"_

 _"No. Take her now. Get it over with immediately." He practically thrust the girl into the old man's arms before storming back inside the base, scaring off many Pigmasks on his way back to his room._

 _And the whole time, his cheeks had been warm._

* * *

 _When Paula Polestar resurfaced into the waking world, she was shocked to find herself under the cold, unforgiving light of a laboratory._

 _She gasped, sitting up immediately, before noting the weight on her wrist. Sapphire eyes turned to gaze on a silver bracelet – though it looked more like a single cuff to her – with a blinking red light, as if indicating something. Paula shook said hand around, trying to see if the bracelet would do anything, but otherwise it didn't do much, besides making a rather entertaining jingling sound._

 _"Like a Mecha-Lion, aren't you?" She froze at the voice. "Always fascinated with jingling metal objects."_

 _"Doctor Andonuts?!" The girl couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of Jeff Andonuts's scientist of a father, staring at her from the side, looking rather stoic for someone who was normally so silly. "Oh, thank goodness I found you; Jeff will be so happy to know you're okay!" She looked around, noting their surroundings. "C'mon, we can get out of this place together, Doctor Andonuts! We'll be able to go back to Winters and-"_

 _"With what, Miss Polestar?" The good doctor's voice was somber. "How will we get home, when we are in an era that is not our own?"_

 _Pause. "… W-what are you talking about?"_

 _"This is the Nowhere Islands… billions of eras in the future." Doctor Andonuts turned his gaze to the bracelet on Paula's wrist. "… You cannot escape, Miss Polestar."_

 _The feeling of foreboding increased. "I-I don't understand-"_

 _"Try out one of your PSI abilities."_

 _Paula refused to listen, looking around, until her gaze finally landed on the Masked Man, standing off to the side, staring at her quietly. His wings had already been retracted into his back, which meant all that she saw was a boy around her age with a helmet and a rather impressive looking jacket – which for some reason called into mind the scent of cinnamon._

 ** _Commander. He's the Commander those pig idiots were squealing about._**

 _It wasn't too hard to guess, really; his stance and outfit all screamed 'leader of an army', though the army itself was rather incompetent when it came to facing down PSI users. Still, the way he stared at her made her feel rather strange, but she didn't dare break eye contact until he gestured to the bracelet on her wrist._

 _Doctor Andonuts's request entered her mind once more, and, with a frown, she attempted PK Fire Alpha-_

 _"SH-" The girl immediately stopped herself from cursing, the jolt of electricity running up her arm and down her spine shocking her enough that she stopped trying the PSI ability. She immediately offered a quick prayer of contrition for her almost curse before glaring at the Masked Man, who only returned her glare with a look of indifference._

 _"My apologies, Miss Polestar…" Paula's gaze turned back to the doctor, and it was then that she noticed the remote in his hand. A sudden realization overtook her, and she stared in horror at her friend's father, who only looked down at his shoes in shame as he mumbled, "It's nothing personal, mind you; I'm simply doing my job-"_

 _"That will be enough, Doctor Andonuts." The man – the Masked Man – stepped forward. "His Highness will be pleased with your accomplishment. You may proceed back to your usual duties."_

 _"That's what I was afraid of…" Doctor Andonuts mumbled before making his way out of the laboratory, but not before placing the remote in the Masked Man's gloved hands. "… You be gentle with her."_

 _"…" The Masked Man gave no indication of affirmation, but there was no indication of denial either, so the scientist took it as consent. A bit relieved, he finally left, but not before mouthing a final "Sorry" to the still in shock Paula Polestar, the door swinging shut behind him._

 _Finally, it was just the two of them._

 _Paula and the Masked Man stared each other down, the former tense, and the other stoic. Silence prevailed for many moments._

 _Until…_

 _"What are you going to do with me?"_

 _Paula wasn't scared, no, of course not. But it still didn't stop the Masked Man from noticing the tinge of anxiety that shrouded her words, the 'me' quivering unintentionally, as if she had already gone through something similar before – as if she had already been captured before, rendered completely helpless, and she didn't like it._

 _The Commander felt something stab at his heart metaphorically at the thought. He didn't really know what it was, but he supposed it was close enough to pity that he would call it pity._

 _"… You're no danger to us anymore, PSI user." Paula felt herself shiver at his voice, though whether it was because the voice was stern or because it was rather rough – the kind of voice she subconsciously liked to some degree - , she wasn't sure. "But you ARE mine now."_

 _"I belong to NO ONE-" Suddenly the feeling of electricity running through her veins shocked her into silence once more, and she glared at him again._

 _He only stared back at her. "Don't fight. I don't want to hurt you anymore than required. With that bracelet, you cannot use any of your PSI abilities, and it doubles as a shock collar of sorts." He placed the remote on a nearby surface. "I won't touch the remote; go on, try one of your abilities."_

 _Was he joking? He must have been joking. But he did put down the remote, which meant Paula was free to try any of her abilities._

 _"PSI Shield Alpha!"_

 _Both waited for the influx of psionics to erupt, but nothing happened._

 _"… Offense Up Alpha?"_

 _Nothing; Paula couldn't feel any sort of power surging through her. Panic began to set in._

 _"PK Fire Alpha! PK Freeze Alpha! PK Thunder Alpha!"_

 _Nope, nada, zip, zilch; none of her PSI abilities were working. She was powerless, she was_ _ **weak**_ _-_

 _The Masked Man sensed the panic rooting itself into her mind, and immediately surged forward, only to have the girl scramble away from him and fall flat on her rear on the other side of the table she was on, sapphire eyes wide with anxiety and fear._

 _"N-no, no, I can't be helpless… no, I have to…" She was babbling, she was losing it. The Masked Man tried to reach her mind, but the barriers she had built up to block him out were strong. Despite that, he could sense the turmoil behind them, and the growing sense of despair. "NESS! JEFF! POO!"_

 _"Quiet!" He shouted, unsheathing his sword and pointing it at her. "You are going to be-"_

 _"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Paula shrieked._

 ** _Violence won't get you anywhere._** _A voice whispered into his ear, melodious and harmonic. He didn't recognize who it was, but it was familiar._ _ *******, you must be kind to everyone you meet. You too, *****. I want my boys to be kind and loving boys.**_

 _Who... was that…?_

 _Regardless, the Commander sheathed his sword once more, and almost immediately, Paula's frightened stance relaxed somewhat. Slowly, and surely, he moved forward, closer to the terrified girl, and when he was certain she wasn't backing away, he knelt down and met her gaze._

 _"You are going to be fine here." He spoke, slowly but surely, despite the half-lies he was trying to feed her. Certainly, she would be safe under his wing; no one defied him, being the Commander, but there was no guarantee she would ever feel at ease with him. "With that collar limiting your abilities, you are of no danger to the Pigmask Army… and you are now under my custody."_

 _The girl was quiet. This prompted him to stand up and hold out a hand. "Get up. While the Pigmask Army is well acquainted with your powers, they do not know you without them."_

 _"…" Paula stared up at him. She looked… broken._

 _He sighed, then rolled his eyes. "I expected you to be a lot stronger, now that you lost your powers, trying to prove that you were still capable. I suppose I was wrong."_

 _This seemed to spark something in the girl, who pushed away his hand and stood up on her own, dusting herself off haughtily before staring him down challengingly. Strangely enough, this sparked some form of emotion in the Commander's half-dead heart, and he smirked._

 _"That's the PSI user I want. Come; it's about time we acquainted you properly with the Pigmask Army."_

 _Paula suddenly looked uncertain. "… Why?"_

 _"Why, what?"_

 _"Why do you want to introduce me to those pigheaded weirdos?"_

 _He raised an eyebrow. "… Well, you're mine now, aren't you?"_

 _Oh, Paula realized._

 _He was just showing off his prisoner, obviously._

 _He seemed to pick up on this train of thought, because he shook his head. "… No. You're not my prisoner." When she looked up at him, the melancholy fading away a bit, he only looked away. "… But you are mine. And nobody else's."_

* * *

After introducing her to the army – he had to admit, the frightened squealing she had elicited from most of them had produced a very tiny smile from him and a snicker from her - , the Commander had taken her down to the room they were now going to share, and showed her where everything was – the bathroom, the drawers where her clothes were going to be, everything.

She asked where he would get her kind of clothes. He only responded with silence.

That day, everything had been rather awkward and tense. A boy and a girl, in the same room, on different beds; certainly, everything would be rather strange. Paula was accustomed to having three boys in one room, certainly, but just one, and a stranger at that?

It took them both a good two hours to even get dressed properly before going to sleep, her mumbling a 'good night' to him while he replied with nothing.

That was a month ago, however.

Now, she was just shivering on her cot, as usual, alone, and tormented by her dreams. She had told him 'good night' again an hour ago, her voice still has quiet and plaintive as it usually was before she went to sleep.

The barriers she had placed over her mind still prevailed, preventing him from attempting to see what was wrong, so he only watched her from his own bed, which was a few inches away from hers, observing the way she tossed and turned, still uncomfortable with her surroundings. She had loosened up around him, certainly, which was a relief; he didn't need to use the remote at all, practically, the way she began to converse with him. Certainly, he'd threaten her with it from time to time, but she wasn't too scared of him anymore.

"Nn…" Paula mumbled. "Claus…"

That was another thing that linked her to the Commander. Insistent on calling him some form of name ( _"Everybody has a name!" She insisted. "Commander is a title, not a name."_ ), she had christened him with the name 'Claus', claiming that it suited him. When asked where she pulled _that_ out of, she shrugged, repeating that 'it suited him'.

He didn't argue; he was on the verge of tearing his hair out with her, anyway.

Only she was allowed to call him Claus, obviously. When a Pigmask tried, they got thrown off the ship, much to Paula's chagrin and Fassad's sadistic amusement.

It was one of the many things that allowed the two to be bonded to each other, and only each other.

Claus sighed once more as Paula uttered his name again, sounding like she was on the brink of tears. With a grunt, he stood up, and transferred to her cot, sitting by her curled up body and grabbing the blanket she had kicked off, draping it over her shivering body gently. She ceased shivering, her arms slackening and falling to either side of her body, but she still whispered his 'name' every other moment, though she sounded a lot happier.

He sighed again before returning to his own bed, drawing the covers up to his chin and turning his back on her. It was strange how she had come to impact his actions so much, this strange intruder from a time long gone. But, he supposed, it wasn't too bad; he had grown to appreciate her company over the four weeks she had been here.

With that thought in mind, the Commander's eyelids fell shut, a woman's voice, strangely familiar but unfamiliar at the same time, singing him to sleep.


	2. Chimeras

**II: Chimeras**

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"What's a chimera?"

Three days into her stay at the Pigmask Base, and already she had found out about the chimeras. The Commander had half a mind to shoot the nearest Pigmask in the face with his cannon for even _mentioning_ it around her-

But the way her sapphire blues blinked up owlishly at him evoked incredibly strange feelings in the pit of his stomach, and so he conceded, folding his arms behind his back and walking the long winding hall towards the Chimera Laboratory. When he noticed that she wasn't following, he turned back to her. "Why aren't you following?"

"Where are we going?" She shot back.

The Commander clicked his tongue. "The Chimera Laboratory. You said you wanted to know what chimeras were."

Her sapphire blue eyes widened. Bingo.

The girl hurried after him, and for a moment, her hand brushed against his gloved one, sending a spark of electricity up his arm and down his spine, similar to the electric shock she received every time he pushed the button on the remote, but a bit different in the sense that it was a sort of pleasant shock. She didn't seem to notice, but he immediately retracted his hand in surprise, staring at her in a mix of confusion and frustration. This proceeded to go on for a few more minutes before he shook his head and continued to lead the way, letting the incident die down in his brain.

The fact that they both used PK Thunder must have triggered it. That was most likely the reason, nothing else.

Upon reaching the laboratory, the scientists greeted him cheerfully, and her with a little distaste, though at the sight of the bracelet around her wrist that stopped her from using her PSI abilities, they started treating her a little bit nicer, though it was most likely because she was basically the only test subject for PSI ability machines in the area that wasn't the Commander; she was delicate, and had to be treated carefully.

This didn't escape her, unfortunately, and after a few scathing words that made even the Commander blink, the scientists stayed as far away as possible from her. Strangely enough, the Commander felt the weird feeling in his stomach once again at her momentary lapse in demureness, but he shook this off as he began to list down the chimeras in the laboratory and what they were made of. Paula appeared to be drinking this all as they moved from chimera to chimera, all of them reacting favorably to her. The Mecha-Lions all purred at the sight of her, while the Slitherhens all stopped fighting to bawk at her plaintively, as if asking her to pick them up.

"No," He told her firmly when she brought up the idea. "These are test subject chimeras that haven't been released yet; you can't touch any of them."

Paula stuck out her lower lip; a pout, the Commander recognized. "And why not? You're going to be releasing these little ones, anyway, aren't you? Might as well have me, the captive, be the test subject." These words were said with a little bit of bitterness, which did not escape the Commander, who only sighed and grumbled, "Fine, but be sure to-"

Paula jumped headfirst into the Slitherhen cage, much to the dismayed shouts of the scientists.

Much to their surprise, however, the Slitherhens all seemed to be behaving around the disabled PSI user, clucking and slithering around her in friendly fashions, one of them curling atop her head and the others slipping and sliding to and fro all around her, excited by her presence. Amidst all this, Paula Polestar laughed, the first genuine laugh she had uttered ever since her arrival in the Pigmask Army Base.

The weird feeling in the Commander's stomach was back, but he tried to squash it down with feelings of pride. Pride in the fact that she was getting along rather well with the chimeras-

 _Friend friEND FrIENd frieennnndd_

 _Bawk bawk fRIEND is friend good frienddddd_

 _Bu-kawk FRIEND FRIENDFRIEND_

The Commander stumbled back, startled. The scientists, Paula, and the chimeras all turned to look at him strangely. The voices started up again.

 _Okay okaY? OKAY? Not okay bokay_

 _Help HELP leader nNOT oKAY_

 _Bo-KAWK HELP_

He was hearing things, he had to be; Slitherhens didn't _talk-_

But they could and they were, and he was hearing them clear as day as if they were normal talking human beings, not that he was one, anyway. The three Slitherhens that had been talking were the ones curled atop Paula's head and hanging from each shoulder respectively, judging from the movement of their beaks. The Commander felt his half-dead heart hammer in his chest loudly at the realization, and he swallowed, beads of sweat dotting the sides of his head.

"Commander, are you-" A scientist reached out to touch his shoulder, but the Commander swatted him away, saying, "Y-yes, I'm fine. I was just… startled, is all. I remembered something rather important I had to do."

Paula blinked up at him owlishly once more.

"…" The Commander groaned. "No, you can't stay here while I handle business. We have to go."

There was an incoherent mumble that the Commander took to mean, "I can handle myself perfectly fine on my own, _thank you._ "

"

The girl only sank deeper into the pile of writhing Slitherhens, making the Pigmask Commander sigh and step inside the cage himself. The chimeras all seemed to sense what he was going to do, because they suddenly began clawing at their cages, howling and roaring and shrieking. The Slitherhens themselves seemed to bury Paula underneath them as the Commander felt a vein bulge in his annoyance.

"Out of my way, all of you." The Commander tried to sift through the massive pile of Slitherhens, but they all refused to budge, clucking at his face.

 _No NO will stAy_

 _SaFE HER WITH us_

 _SAFeR_

"She's safer with _me-_ " The Commander finally gave in, responding to the voices in his head, when suddenly he found himself atop of Paula, who was giggling, a tiny Slitherhen wrapped around her fingers. The position seemed to bother neither of them as he shifted, arms on either side of her head, legs on either side of hers, pinning her down. Strangely enough, the helmet didn't come off amidst the ruckus, which prevented the blonde from seeing his face.

"… Who were you talking to?" She finally asked, blinking up at him, lips still twitched up in a warm smile, as if the two of them were sharing an inside joke while buried underneath a writhing pile of chicken headed snakes.

There went the weird feeling in his stomach all over again.

"…" The Commander stared at her intently, unable to answer for a good while, before standing up, knocking away all the Slitherhens that had been gathering on top of his back. They clucked indignantly as he dusted himself off, fixing his helmet before holding out a hand to Paula, who only stared up at him curiously before he groaned and stated, "Get up. We're leaving."

"Will I be able to visit the Chimera Lab again?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You can't. That's final."

Paula's fingers twitched.

"…" The Commander and Paula both stared each other down, daring the other to concede to the other's statement. The scientists all huddled together, rapidly discussing the repercussions of Paula's current attempt against their heterochromic-eyed commander with evident fear in their eyes. Their terror radiated in waves; they didn't believe the Commander would back down from her, they didn't believe she would back down either, she was practically dead on her feet, a walking-

"… Alright, fine, you can visit every other day, but _only_ if I'm there to accompany you."

One of the scientists dropped their coffee mug.

Paula looked surprised as well that her wish had been honored, but this surprise was quickly covered up by her unbridled delight, which she expressed by throwing her arms around him, giving him a rather brief hug of gratitude – which was a little difficult, given that he was a rather good deal taller than her, which meant she had to tip toe to even _reach_ his shoulders - before kneeling down, letting the Slitherhens cluck cheerfully all around her again, giggling at their cheerful chatter.

The Commander didn't realize it at first, but he had been staring rather strangely at the blonde after her momentary display of affection, the feel of her arms pressing against his back still lingering, sending sudden jolts of electricity through his veins once more.

 _PSI Thunder. Definitely PSI sparks._

But it wasn't just that, exactly; the affectionate gesture had awakened a simple, if not very crucial memory.

 ** _Oh, *****! What happened?_**

 ** _You're crying, and so is *****? Oh dear, oh dear, what happened? Tell me what's wrong, little ones._**

 ** _… I see… so ***** teased ***** for being a crybaby and ***** hit ***** in the face with a mole cricket… boys, what did I tell you about being kind to others?_**

Momentarily, his eyes closed, lost in the melodious soprano.

 ** _… Alright, say you're sorry to each other now._**

 ** _… Good boys. Those are the boys I've raised… *****, *****, never forget that kindness will always prevail. If you give kindness, then you will be paid in turn with kindness. Even if not immediately, there is a guarantee that kindness begets kindness._**

 ** _Come here, the both of you. Stop your tears now, my sweet, sweet boys. Let's hug and forget that you ever fought over that, alright?_**

 _...mander? Com… der…_

"Commander?"

Emerald and ruby eyes opened again. It wasn't Paula that had spoken; it had been a scientist, nervously peering at him from outside the cage. "Erm, n-not to be a bother or anything, sir, but the Slitherhens look to be ready for release into the Sunshine Forest, sir… we'll be clearing out this cage in a moment…"

"… Right." He held out a hand to Paula once more, and this time, she took it almost immediately, standing herself up and dusting herself off in a similar fashion before crouching down, bidding each of the Slitherhens a semi-tearful farewell. Each chimera seemed to react mournfully to the farewell, which made the onlooking scientists curious as each Slitherhen expressed its own sad clucking tones to the PSI user individually before slithering off to the other side of the cage, morose.

Finally, all had bidden their farewells to the dress wearing PSI user, and she stood up once again, nodding at him. "I'm ready."

"Let's go. The delay in my arrival will have slowed the troops considerably, knowing those knuckleheaded idiots." The Commander turned on his heel and stepped out of the cage, Paula following daintily after him, the bracelet limiting her abilities jingling noisily as they exited the Chimera Lab, the scientists whispering to themselves, jotting down notes. However, one particular voice floated towards the Commander's trained ears just as he stepped out of the laboratory, and it made him freeze.

 _She's got a way with chimeras. Maybe we can put her in the Ultimate Chimera's cage and see if she tames it._

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" He suddenly roared, turning on his heel once again to storm back into the chimera laboratory, much to the bafflement of his bow wearing companion, and to the fear of the gathered scientists, who all yelped at his return, cowering. He eyed each of them critically before barking out, "Who said that? Who suggested putting her in the _Ultimate Chimera's_ cage?"

Silence.

The scientists all looked at each other before one of them shoved another one forward.

The Commander examined the scientist they had offered up as sacrifice. Young, quite possibly only a few years older than the Commander himself physically. Looked rather inexperienced, but if he was in the Chimera Lab, then he must have been some form of genius. With a glare, he grabbed the scientist by the collar and raised him up a little, his gaze piercing into the man's very soul.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" The scientist wailed, pleading for mercy. "I-I wasn't s-serious at all, I s-swear! I-It was a joke, C-Commander sir!"

"It certainly didn't **_sound like a joke when YOU SUGGESTED IT TO YOUR-_** "

"What's going on?"

Immediately, his anger died down halfway. Oh, it still bubbled under the surface, certainly, but it was quelled for the moment as Paula peeked in, looking rather confused to be standing outside for no good reason, waiting for the Commander to lead her to wherever he was supposed to go and wherever she was supposed to stay while he attended to his duties. Letting go of the scientist, the Commander grunted, then waved the scientists away. They scattered immediately.

"What happened? Is everything okay?" Paula asked as the Commander stepped out again, the door closing behind him. She matched his brisk pace, staring up at his helmeted face curiously. "… Was it about me?"

"…" The Commander paused, glancing at her, before looking forward once more. "It doesn't matter. I've already dealt with the problem."

The rest of their walk was spent in relative silence.

* * *

The important thing the Commander had to do, as it turned out, was Needle searching.

Sitting on her cot, Paula watched the Commander with an intrigued look on her face as he searched his drawers for his arm cannon, something that he didn't wear quite often unless he needed it in a battle. Its purpose had been explained to her as they ascended the stairs to his – _their_ , they both reminded themselves – room, passing by a multitude of Pigmasks, who saluted the Commander hastily before running away squealing at the sight of his female companion.

"Aha, there it is." The Commander lifted up a rather simple looking piece of machinery, which he attached to his arm rather easily. "Systems have all been restored, connections to the nervous system have been reestablished, PSI wiring has been enabled-"

"You use PSI too?" If Paula's eyes could get any wider, they would have been the size of dinner plates.

The Commander paused. Ah; he had forgotten to mention it. "… Yes, yes, I do use PSI as well. I believe we share a multitude of offensive PSI, such as Fire, Thunder and Freeze."

"Up until the Omega levels?"

"I've only reached Gamma myself."

"That's okay, I haven't reached Omega for some of them either."

"You're awfully sympathetic towards someone who has essentially claimed you as 'theirs', aren't you?" The Commander commented, flexing his right arm, which now had his reconnected cannon. The thing was heavy and he disliked it, but it was a good way to channel his PSI into concentrated bursts of energy. His sword was only good for PK Thunder.

Paula's cheeks turned a little pink as she fiddled with the bracelet. "… Well, you kind of make it hard for me not to be sympathetic, you know?"

"Pray tell, what makes me sympathetic?"

"Well…" The girl from Twoson began honestly, crossing her legs. "You look to be around my age, and you're here, stuck commanding an army of pigs! Er, men wearing pig masks… Pigmasks, right? Yes, those. You're a teenage boy commanding an army, isn't that sad?"

The Commander glanced at the window. It was still shut. "I find my role to be impressive and dignified. Being the Commander of these blockheads is not an easy job."

"Exactly my point!" Paula twiddled her fingers. "When you're a teenager, you're supposed to be out playing, making friends, enjoying the world! And you can't do that if you're the commander of an army. What are you even fighting for anyway?"

He opened the windows to bright blaring sunlight and warm blue skies. "I may look like I am your age, but I am technically speaking only around five years old. Biologically speaking I _am_ a teenager, but according to my inner clock, I am five. And being the Commander is…" He paused. " _Tolerable."_

"Mm-hmm, sure it is." Paula glanced at the window. "Why'd you open the window?"

The Commander tapped his foot. "Come here. I'll show you why."

"… You sure you're not going to just push me out your window? We _are_ pretty high up…"

"I'm not going to kill something that is mine. You're too precious." Paula turned a vivid red at his statement as he stared out the window. "Let's see… the sky appears to be clear. All right, let's get this over with. If I don't go any faster they'll end up killing each other with their stupidity."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what are you-"

Suddenly, he scooped her up, bridal style, exactly the way he carried her unconscious body to the base the first time around, he stepped on the window still, and _dropped._

 **"OH MY CHEESE AND BOWS AND TEDDY BEARS AND CRACKERS AND NUTS ARE YOU** ** _CRAZY-_** **"**

And suddenly, they were _soaring._

Right on cue, the Commander had unfurled his large wings, allowing them to catch air beneath them, lifting them up a fair height from the ground. Once he was sure they were flying, the Commander sighed again in relief before glancing at his companion.

Paula had curled into his chest – specifically his jacket -, clutching at the material, trembling. Once she was sure she was still alive, however, she opened her eyes, and gasped in surprise at the wings that were now spread out on either side of them, like large bat wings on a human being.

"You… you have wings!" She voiced her thoughts out numbly.

He couldn't help but smirk. "Glad to see you're paying attention, Lady Polestar. Yes, I indeed have wings."

"B-but why…?!" Paula shrieked as a bird cut past them, chirping.

The Commander chuckled, a warm-sounding rumble that emanated from his chest, which happened to be the place where Paula's head was still leaning against. The rumbling made the girl relax considerably as he told her, "Why do you think I have wings?"

"Um, you're secretly a mutant?"

"… Close, but not quite." The Commander smirked at her from underneath his helmet. "Hang on tight; I'm coming in for a landing."

At his warning, Paula pressed herself closer to the Commander's chest, hands clinging to his jacket as a precaution, ear pressed to the area where his heart would have been.

 _Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump_

He had a steady heartbeat, certainly, but there was something else too. Something… inhuman.

 _Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep_

"We're here."

Paula blinked, and then turned a bright pink upon realizing that she was still in the Commander's arms, curled into his chest as if it was the safest place in the world (and for a good five minutes, in the air, where she could have fallen at any moment and died at any moment, it was). With a stammer, she released his jacket and allowed herself to be righted again on her feet, before she looked around.

"Where are we?"

"Sunshine Forest." The Commander nodded at a Pigmask examining a charred tree stump. "The Slitherhens thrive in these parts; the ones you were acquainted with should be transported here within a day or two."

Paula pursed her lips. "I see…" She glanced around as the Commander went off to check on a group of Pigmasks observing a Mischievous Mole dueling against a Slitherhen, only to notice a moving bush near the corner. She raised an eyebrow. "He-llo, curiosity, what do we have here?"

Kneeling down, she reached out to touch the bush, when suddenly eyes blinked out at her sleepily, a single leaf raising itself up to wave at her: a Walking Bushie. "Chrr-chrr?"

"Oh, how adorable you are!" Paula gushed, ruffling the Bushie's leaves with a hand. The Bushie seemed to like it, because it hopped closer to Paula and nuzzled her leg, which made her giggle. Unlike the other Bushies hiding in plain sight, this Bushie was only about the size of a little puffball, fitting perfectly into a pair of cupped hands like a little plush toy. This was proven by Paula, who put out her cupped hands towards the Bushie, and it hopped onto them, fitting snugly into her hold.

The PSI user cooed, "You're such a cute little thing, what are you doing here? Hiding from the mean ol' Pigmasks, aren't you, little one?"

"Chrrr?" The Bushie asked. Unlike Ness, who could understand animals because of his special brand of PSI, Paula could not understand any creature that wasn't human that didn't speak English. They both had PSI, but only Ness could understand other creatures. "Chrp, chrppp-chr!"

Paula sighed. "I can't understand you, little one, I'm so sorry."

"Chrrrr!" The Bushie exclaimed, as if to say, _It's okay!_

"Aren't you a darling little thing…" Paula nuzzled the little Bushie, just as the Commander walked up to her from behind and asked, "Who is, pray tell?"

"EEP!" Paula's hand immediately fell to in front of her, still clutching the Bushie so as not to hurt it in falling. "O-oh, it's you! Um, I was… talking to… no one, yes, no one!" She smiled sweetly. "I was talking to myself, to clarify further, no need to worry!"

He shook his head, smirking ever so slightly. "You found a little chimera, did you?"

"Is he a chimera? I don't really- oops." Paula stopped herself, turning a little pink at the realization that she had let slip that she had the Bushie in her hands not for research purposes. The Commander looked triumphant at this, so she snapped, "It was a fluke, don't get yourself so worked up!"

"Whatever you say." The Commander glanced around. "If you want to take it back then there's no issue, as long as you take care of it yourself. We're done here; we can go back now."

The disabled PSI user blinked. That fast? "It's only been a few minutes, hasn't it?"

"These idiots already managed to break at least five legs and three arms while I was gone." He shook his head, disappointed. "With me around, casualties had been reduced to a bare minimum, but that wasn't enough, so I sent them home. Shall we?"

Paula glanced at the Bushie in her hands, who peered up at her rather sleepily in a cute fashion. "… Can I… really take it back to our room?"

"…" The Commander glanced down at the Bushie. The Bushie blinked up at him as well.

 _Is Commander?_

He nodded subtly; best not let Paula know that he was slowly going insane, probably.

 _See, see. Take home now? Who is her?_

"Paula," He stated clearly, calling her attention and giving the name to the Bushie. "You are mine, and no one else's. Therefore, if you want something, then I can tell you whether it is fine or not."

 _Is love?_

The Commander didn't seem to hear. "You have behaved the past three days… somewhat…"

"Hmph, somewhat."

"… And I've decided that… it would be fine if you kept this Walking Bushie." He peered at the Bushie again. "This appears to be the small variant of Bushie, so it's doubly easier to take care of it."

"… Thank you…" Paula smiled genuinely, and the Commander instantly felt his stomach do a belly flop again. How curious; perhaps she had a special ability that wasn't PSI to make other people feel strangely warm and happy! He would have to tell Doctor Andonuts.

It took him a while to realize that Paula had been talking. "... Pardon, what was that?"

"You know, you never did tell me outright why you had wings."

"... Ah. That would be because I too, am a chimera."

"... Oh."

"Come on, then." With a last scan of the forest around them, the Commander took Paula into his arms, bridal style again, and flew away as she let her head rest on his chest, the Bushie in her arms, just as Lucas chanced upon the unconscious bodies of Ness, Jeff Andonuts, and Prince Poo in a clearing nearby.


	3. Strange

**III: Strange**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

"Have you ever had fun?"

The Commander didn't let his eyes stray from the screen as he pressed a few more buttons to send out more commands. "I command an army."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question, Claus." Paula, who was sitting next to the human chimera, observed the commands he typed out with quiet interest, watching the letters print out in neat pixelated white as the sounds of Pigmasks receiving his commands resounded on tiny speakers on either side of them. The Walking Bushie she had 'adopted' two weeks ago was currently skittering around their feet happily, making delighted "Chrr, chrr!" sounds as it walked.

The Commander paused in his command inputting. "Lady Polestar-"

"I still don't understand why you call me that."

"It's a term of respect!" The Commander snapped before continuing, not noticing the look of realization dawning on the blonde's face at the mention of it being a term of respect. "And I've told you already; I am the Commander of the Pigmask Army. I have no time for 'fun'."

Paula sighed. "And I've told you already: Commander is a title, not a name. That's why I'm calling you Claus."

"Bah! You're absolutely baffling." He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, halting command input, which startled most of the Pigmasks he was sending orders to into a flurry of nervous and panicked oinking, which made Paula cover her ears in annoyance. Growling, the Commander returned back to typing in the next set of commands, making the Pigmasks settle down once more.

Once she was certain the oinking had stopped, the bow wearing PSI user let her hands drop back to her lap, just as the Commander grumbled, "Pigheaded idiots can't even function properly without me sending commands to each of them when they know I'm at the command deck, _ugh_. _Don't_ make me stop typing whenever I'm in here again, Lady Polestar."

Paula smiled. "Does this mean you'll let me call you Claus, then?"

The Commander – now lovingly labeled as Claus – didn't answer at first, still deadly focused on the task of inputting commands to the more incompetent members of the Pigmask army. Paula watched him with sapphire blue eyes, awaiting his response, until finally he grumbled, "Fine. You can call me Claus. But only you can call me Claus."

"Are you serious?" Paula looked incredulous.

Claus didn't glance at her as he typed in instructions for a group of Navy SQUEALs. "Take it or leave it."

"…" The disabled PSI user studied his helmeted face for a moment, trying to decipher if he was telling the truth. After a few moments, however, her face brightened, and she smiled. "Alright then, Claus! I'll call you Claus from now on! See, was that so hard?"

Oh, it certainly wasn't too hard, giving her permission to refer to him so casually. To everyone else's ears, Paula's voice was light and airy, that of a typical sugary sweet girl's, but to the trained (and coincidentally modified) ear, they could hear her voice lilting ever so gently at certain words, her accent flavoring each sentence she spoke. Claus still wasn't particularly sure where Paula had come from, so he couldn't place the accent, but he did find it rather pleasing to the ear.

… Did he really just think that?

Thankful for his helmet's ability to prevent others from reading his mind, the heterochromic-eyed boy turned a rather embarrassing shade of pink, startling his companion.

"Oh, what's wrong, Claus?" The girl sidled up closer to him on the bench they both shared, the Walking Bushie falling flat on its face when Paula accidentally tripped it up. She didn't notice, instead sitting a good deal closer to the Commander, observing his now fuchsia face. "Are you sick? Do chimeras even _get_ sick?"

Claus tried his hardest not to stammer. He really did. "I-It's nothing."

Pork _damn_ it.

"You're stammering."

 _Pork_ _ **damn**_ _it._

"N-no, I am not."

 ** _Pork DAMN it._**

"I'll go call Doctor Andonuts. Maybe he knows what to do." The PSI user stood up, her ability limiter – both of them had taken to calling it the PK-No Bracelet – jingling noisily as she did so. With a final concerned look cast in Claus's direction, Paula told him, "I'll be right back, okay? I won't try to escape for now… I need to get Doctor Andonuts to look at you and see if you're okay."

"For now?" That made some of the embarrassing red coloration from his face fade away a bit. "What do you mean 'for now'? Were you planning some form of escape?" _That's impossible. The bracelet would warn us of any attempts to escape._

"Well… actually…" Paula glanced at her hands once more. "I planned on leaving a lot of times during the past few weeks… but I didn't know how. The reason I'm telling you all this is because…" Her voice dropped down to an incomprehensible mumble, which even Claus's highly trained ears couldn't decipher.

"Pardon?"

"Mmnhmmmnm…"

By this point, Claus had stopped blushing, and was now rather annoyed that Paula wasn't speaking comprehensibly. "You do realize I can't understand a _single_ word you're saying-"

 **"I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ANYMORE BECAUSE YOU DON'T TREAT ME LIKE A PRISONER ANYMORE AND YOU'RE ACTUALLY REALLY SWEET!"**

… Well. Well then.

Both of them had effectively shut up at the words she had shouted out. Trying to process her words, Claus was silent, running them over and over through his mental database. Realizing what she had blurted out, Paula gasped and turned a bright red, raising her hands up to her mouth immediately, covering it. The PK-No Bracelet jingled noisily as she immediately turned heel.

"OkayIthinkI'mgonnagofetchDoctorAndonutsnowbye-" **_SLAM!_**

The door slammed shut as Paula absconded out of the room, leaving a baffled, red faced Commander – who had finally realized what her words meant - and a sulky, tiny Walking Bushie, still face down on the floor. Upon noticing the predicament of Paula's little friend, he halted all command input – thankfully enough, this time he had inputted enough for the Pigmasks to function for a few more hours on their own without any guidance - and bent down a little, lifting up the little Bushie by its leaf until it was seated where Paula had been previously, upright and walking again.

 _Thank thank!_

"You're welcome," Claus mumbled, taking off his helmet and placing it on his other side, revealing styled ginger hair under it. His hair, strangely enough, despite the helmet that had been pressing down on it for a long while, had retained its strange double cowlick style, which he ran his fingers through, to assure himself that it wouldn't fall apart at any moment.

The Bushie watched intently as Claus traced the three scars running through his left eye. Doctor Andonuts had told him that a rogue Mecha-Drago had done it to him, and, without any other reliable source of information, Claus had believed him. It looked deep enough to have been done by a mechanically modified reptile – the unnatural cleanness of the edges of each scar was too precise to have been done by a simple clawed hand.

"…" Claus's hand dropped back down onto his lap.

 _What matter?_

"Nothing's the matter." By this point, Claus had given up and had accepted that yes, he could talk to monsters and chimeras. He didn't particularly understand how, but he could. Perhaps Doctor Andonuts would know…

 _Is bothered by Paula?_

"No, I could never be bothered by her." Pause. "Well, bother in the unproductive sense of the word, anyway."

 _Then what going on? Is you okay?_

The Bushie peered up at him with sleepy eyes. Claus sighed. "I'm functioning at 100%. All systems are fully functional, with no parts in need of repair or touchup."

 _What?_

"I am… functioning well enough." Claus allowed a few sparks of PSI to erupt from his fingertips. These sparks, however, were unlike other PSI sparks, in the sense that they were iridescent hexagons, sparkling despite the lighting of the command deck. "However, I can't seem to shake this strange feeling that I am getting every time Paula does something inherently different than usual." Pause.

 _Is love?_

Love? Claus only knew of PK Love, and that was his unique PSI power. Did the Bushie mean that it was his special PSI reacting to Paula's PSI? _But… as far as we're all aware, Paula doesn't have any unique PSI abilities, unless…_ His eyes widened. _She could have unawakened special PSI powers, and PK Love is reacting to it!_

"C-Claus?"

He immediately froze up. Oh Pork, oh Pork, he didn't have his helmet on, oh **_PORK-_**

"Claus, I brought Doctor Andonuts o-" Paula stepped inside the room, having recovered from her temporary bout of embarrassment, only to squeak, not recognizing Claus's bright ginger hair from behind, but recognizing his fur trimmed jacket even from afar. "EEP! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

 _Is here! Is here!_

The Bushie jumped up and off the bench, skittering off to the now red-faced Paula, who immediately turned away as Claus hastily stuffed the helmet back onto his head, just as Doctor Andonuts ambled in, holding, well, a donut and a cup of coffee. Upon seeing the blonde PSI user turned away, the Bushie chattering around her heels, and the ginger commander furiously trying his best not to glance in her direction, he raised an eyebrow. Otherwise, he walked over to Claus, raising a portable X-Ray.

"Paula here has retrieved me because she believes you're not doing well," He explained as Claus attempted to compose himself, facing the scientist with a stoic look on his face. Claus already knew why he was there; Paula had already mentioned she would be heading for him, after all. "According to this small scale X-Ray, you appear to be functioning fine enough. Perhaps it's your inner cooler?"

"… I have an inner cooler?"

The scientist shrugged. "I'm not certain myself. I've already forgotten."

 ** _WONDERFUL._** "Well, it was very gracious of you to check up on me, Doctor Andonuts. It wasn't necessary, however, so I apologize for having wasted your time and taking you away from whatever project you were currently working on."

"No need to apologize." Doctor Andonuts shook his head. "I consider you like my own son, and taking the time to make sure my son is alright is a good thing." A look of unrestricted sadness crossed the good doctor's face. "I wish I had done so before…"

"Doctor Andonuts…" Paula looked like she knew what he was talking about, which baffled Claus. Did Paula know Doctor Andonuts more than she let on? Did they have a past? How did they know each other?

… What was a son?

Each question seemed to make annoyance bubble up within the scarred Commander. Well, to be frank, it wasn't _exactly_ annoyance. It was more of annoyance mixed with some other strange, foreign feeling that he didn't truly understand. Now that he thought about it, any strange, foreign feelings he received nowadays… they were always triggered in some way by the PSI user he kept under his wing.

"Egads, I've been rambling." Doctor Andonuts replaced the X-Ray into one of his many pockets as the Bushie skittered back to Claus, chattering. "Well, if there isn't anything else to be done, I shall be returning to the Chimera-"

"Wait."

Both Paula and Doctor Andonuts paused and raised an eyebrow at him.

"If… it's not a bother… I would like to pose a few queries." The Commander stood up, reestablishing his full height – which was at least a good two heads taller than the doctor and nearly one head taller than Paula – and staring down at him with a stoic look on his face. "I believe they will be beneficial for both you and me, seeing as that you were the one in charge of my design."

Doctor Andonuts blinked, and then nodded. "Yes, well, I don't see why I can't spare a few minutes, Commander. To keep you in tip top shape would benefit the army greatly, so any personal inquiries about your makeup would help keep you in good form at all times."

Claus nodded in acknowledgement, and then turned to Paula. "Paula."

"H-hah? I-I didn't see, anything, I swear!" Paula immediately turned to face him, stammering, her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink.

He couldn't help it: the faintest of smiles crossed his face, which did not go unnoticed by Doctor Andonuts, whose glasses glinted in recognition. "I was just going to ask if you would be so kind as to check on the Mecha-Moles and Rhinocerockets down in the Chimera Lab. The scientists will be glad to have your assistance in taming some of them, even if they don't say they appreciate it."

"O-oh… are you sure…?" Suddenly, the girl looked uncertain. "I mean, sure, they tolerate me, but only because I'm sort of, well, you know… and only because you're there with me, supervising! They don't do anything to me because you're around-"

"Trust me: now that I'm _not_ with you, they're going to be even more cautious." Claus let a smirk cross his face. "I could drop in at any moment, and could catch them doing something that would make me…" He clenched his fist involuntarily. "… angry."

Doctor Andonuts swallowed. Paula didn't flinch at all.

"Well, if you're sure…" Paula's PK-No Bracelet jingled as she turned around again, her hand on the door. She glanced back at him. "Will you be going to the Chimera Lab later, after you talk to Doctor Andonuts?"

"I'll bring you back to our room later after our discussion." He nodded. "Don't worry. And stay away from the Ultimate Chimera, no matter _what_ any of the scientists say."

Her eyebrow rose. "Ultimate Chimera?"

"Just don't go anywhere near it. Don't ask about it, don't even _think_ about it."

"…"

"…"

"… Alright then, Claus." She smiled softly, exiting the room. "I'll see you later, then." The door shut behind her, and she was gone.

Immediately, Doctor Andonuts turned to Claus. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"I have a lot of questions, can't we go with that first?"

"… Fine."

* * *

"… Hmm, so that's how it is..."

Minutes after Paula had left, Doctor Andonuts had sat down on the bench of the command deck, the Bushie sitting calmly beside him, staring up sleepily at the pacing Commander, who had been talking rather animatedly for someone who had had most of his emotions locked away. From the first time he had subdued her to the Chimera Lab incident, and even until now, he mentioned all of the strange occurrences and feelings that he had experienced from the date of Paula's arrival. Each incident had made Doctor Andonuts' eyebrows rise further up his face, but by the last incident, they had sunk back down to their usual spot, perched above his eyes like wooly caterpillars.

"-and I just can't get the idea out of my head that maybe, just maybe, she has an unawakened PSI power within her that keep reacting with PK Love! It could prove to be beneficial to the whole army if she possessed a unique power too, wouldn't it? What do you think, Doctor Andonuts?" Claus stopped, looking towards the scientist. "… Doctor Andonuts?"

"… hm? Oh, pardon me. Yes, yes, you think Paula has her own special PSI that hasn't been awakened within her yet, but you think it's reacting to PK Love…" Doctor Andonuts leaned forward. "But how are you certain it isn't just remnants of recently used PK Thunder?"

Claus shook his head. "No, I'm sure it isn't just PK Thunder anymore. I used to think it was, but it would appear that alongside electric jolts, there are strange surges of foreign emotion that I feel from time to time. It _has_ to be a special PSI."

"…" Doctor Andonuts had a rather good idea what he was talking about, but he wasn't exactly sure, so he just shrugged. "Well, we could perhaps bring up the topic of unlocking said powers with the young Polesta-"

"COMMANDER!"

Both males froze at the sound of a panicked Pigmask rushing in, saluting shakily. "C-C-C-Commander, sir, t-there's a problem!"

"What is it _now_ , soldier?" The Commander asked in an exasperated tone, a little annoyed at having been interrupted in the middle of what he considered an important discussion with the good scientist. "You do realize I could have you executed for just barging into the command deck, right?"

"I-I'm well aware, s-sir!" The Pigmask stammered. "H-however, I-I am also well aware that t-the girl is more important than executing me r-right now!"

The girl? What-

 _Paula._

"What happened to Paula?" The Commander strode closer to the Pigmask, using all of his self-control not to grab the Pigmask by the throat and strangle him. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER, SOLDIER?! ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW!"

The Pigmask could sense his self-restraint, because they backed away a little. "T-The men brought in some rogue Minor Robots to be fixed in the Chimera Lab sir, and one of them hit the girl with a Drow-Z Beam!"

"Oh, is that all?" Claus relaxed, though only by a fraction. "Drow-Z beams from Minor Robots do not last very long. I'll just take her back to our room and watch over her until she wakes up, while one of the Captains takes control over the others momentarily."

Even though they were helmeted, the Pigmask was visibly sweating. "T-that's just it, Commander sir… those Minor Robots… they were considered rogue because they were attacking Pigmasks without reason in New Pork… and their attacks are stronger than usual, as if they were tampered with by some outside force smart enough to change their AIs…"

 _No… you can't mean…_

"T-the girl won't wake up, sir."

Despite the narrowness of the room and the hallways, the Commander spread his wings. And then, without another word, he was gone, headed for the Chimera Lab with only one thought in mind.

 _I am going to fucking_ _ **MURDER**_ _the man who tampered with the Minor Robots._


	4. Dream

**IV: Dream**

.

.

.

.

She looked so serene.

When Claus had burst into the Chimera Lab, batlike wings spread out menacingly behind him as he scanned the entire area, he didn't spot her immediately. At first, all he had seen were scientists wrestling with dysfunctional Minor Robots, a few of the more inexperienced scientists already knocked out on the floor, snoring soundly: a clear sign that they were only knocked out for a few hours, and could be awoken with the proper awakening device. The chimeras had all been rather quiet before he had arrived, but the moment he had shown up, it was like an onslaught of worried roars and shrieks.

 ** _DANGEROUS_**

 _waKE buK-AWK_

 ** _WI LL NO T WAK E U P_**

 _H E lP buKAWWWW-K!_

 _seND assIst_

 ** _WA K EN_**

 _BAAAWWKKKK_

"I know, I know, I know, I **_know!_** " Claus roared in response to the various chattering of the chimeras invading his head, which made the scientists and Pigmasks on the scene blink, wondering amongst themselves, "Who's the Commander talking to?"

"I don't know," One Pigmask said truthfully. "Maybe he's going a little crazy."

"Well, she _is_ kinda important to him." Another one agreed.

This Claus heard, but paid no attention to, ruby and emerald eyes still scanning frantically for his charge. His efforts were soon rewarded, however, when he found carnation pink and fuchsia splayed out haphazardly on the cold metal floor of the laboratory. Immediately, he descended, his wings folding back inside slowly as he did so, until his boots touched the ground lightly as if he were naught but a feather, kneeling by Paula's unmoving body as he did so.

He touched a hand to her cheek. She was deathly still.

A hand moved towards the vein on her neck, checking for a pulse. Yes, she was still alive.

Releasing the breath he didn't know he had been holding, the Commander let his hand return to his side, examining Paula's overall state of being. Like the other scientists of the Pigmask army that had been hit by similar but less potent Drow-Z Beams, it was easy to tell where the beam had hit her. No matter what part of the body received the full brunt of the beam, the target would definitely fall asleep on the spot, no exceptions. Paula herself had been hit square in the face – as evidenced by the dashes of soot below and above her eyes and on the bridge of her nose. Almost as if on instinct, the Commander wiped away the soot around her eyes with his thumb, smudging it the way an artist would smudge charcoal on paper, and pressed on, the black fading away within a few minutes.

"When she fell, a Parental Kangashark went to cushion her, Commander sir." A Pigmask reported from the sidelines quietly, unprompted. The Commander trained his emerald green eye on the Pigmask at these words, scrutinizing him, and the Pigmask shrank back a little, attempting to hide behind a higher ranking officer. However, instead of the reaction the Pigmask expected, Claus sighed again, bringing a hand to Paula's forehead, wishing that he had at least _some_ form of healing PSI.

Offensive, assist and healing PSI. Doctor Andonuts had lectured him on the existence of all three and the existence of only two within him – offensive and assist PSI. Healing PSI was something that was out of his reach due to some circumstances that neither he nor the scientist behind his makeup was aware of, but otherwise he didn't need it – a good offense is a good defense, as some said.

 _It would've been useful, though._ He mused mentally, arms slipping underneath the sleeping PSI user, securing support behind her back and under her knees as he stood up, carrying her bridal style once more. It was becoming a habit for him to carry the blonde that way whenever needed, seeing as that she didn't seem to complain (compared to when he tried slinging her over his shoulder; needless to say, he shouldn't have attempted it near the kitchen, where she had access to a multitude of frying pans). Even in her unconsciousness, Paula seemed to fit like a puzzle piece in his arms, head pressed lightly against his jacket, arms laid across her lap.

"… Colonel."

"Sir, yes sir!" A Pigmask Colonel saluted.

The Commander didn't look, facing the doorway. "I want those Minor Robots destroyed immediately. No repairs are to be made on these machines under any circumstances, no questions asked. I want them scrapped to the last bolt. Do you understand?"

"Affirmative, sir!" The Pigmask nodded briskly. "We will have the scientists wreck them immediately, sir!"

The Commander made a small nodding gesture in the Pigmask's direction as acknowledgement before heading towards the door. "I'll be in our room for today. You," He glanced at a Pigmask Major. "You take charge for now in the Chimera Lab, understand?"

"Yes sir!"

"Alright."

As the Pigmasks began to return to their newly assigned duties, Claus walked swiftly, taking care not to drop the blonde in his arms. Pigmasks he encountered saluted him, and while he could not directly see their faces, he could feel their pitying gazes directed towards the girl in his arms, and he shot scathing glances at them, making them visibly sweat in their uniforms. Paula wasn't someone to be pitied. Paula was strong in her own way. Paula was headstrong and optimistic and kindhearted and powerful. Paula was a time traveler, Paula was a girl disowned by time. Paula didn't belong in this timeline, but she did belong somewhere there.

Paula was vibrant. Paula was like the sun. Paula's eyes were a sapphire blue.

 _And I might not ever see them again if she doesn't wake up._

The thought unintentionally sent chills down the Commander's spine, and he didn't know why in particular. Attributing the feeling to his earlier theory, he shook it off, though unconsciously, he held Paula tighter to him.

Unconsciously, Paula curled deeper into his chest.

* * *

In her dreams, Paula Polestar found roses.

 _Strange…_ She thought, sitting up. _Is this a dream?_

From where she was currently at, she saw yards and yards of beautiful red roses surrounding her on all sides. Here and there, a few pink roses were mixed in, and even the occasional white one, but otherwise they were all red roses, all beautiful and blooming and a bright ruby color. Just like one of Claus's eyes.

… Where had _that_ come from?

The sky was strange, but oddly enough, also beautiful. Pinks and blues and purple all blended with each other in the large canvas that was the space up above, pink clouds not unlike the ones she knew to be in Dalaam drifting lazily about. Sighing in contentment, Paula was happy enough to simply sit in the middle of the field of roses, staring at the sky, without a care in the world as to what she was supposed to do or what had brought her there.

… _Wait, darn it, how did I get here?!_

The PSI user immediately sat back up, panic taking over. She was in a strange new land of roses and pink skies, and she was just sitting there, waiting to get attacked. Her first instinct was to attempt one of her PSI attacks, but then she remembered something numbly. _Oh. Right. I still have the PK-No Brace- huh?_

She raised the wrist with the PK-No Bracelet.

There was a distinct lack of a PK-No Bracelet.

"I…" Her sapphire blue eyes widened considerably. "I can use PSI again! I'm free! Woo-HOOOO!"

"It would only make sense that you would be free in your dreams, dear one."

Paula immediately froze in her attempt to do some strange victory dance. Standing before her – where had she come from?! – was a woman in her late thirties or early forties, her eyes a beautiful crystalline blue, though the blue was dulled a little by the faint white glow that surrounded her eyes. Cascading locks of chocolate brown hair flowed down her back like a waterfall, and her skin was fair, sun kissed, the bridge of her nose freckled with darker spots. Her dress was a deep ruby red with a white collar – simple, but it fit her elegant, motherly frame.

"P-pardon me!" Paula immediately straightened up, cheeks coloring a faint pink before the woman's words sank in, and she deflated a little. "Oh. So this _is_ a dream, then. I still have the PK-No Bracelet in real life."

The woman nodded. "I'm afraid so. Still, you are free here in Magicant, so you can do whatever you want."

"Magicant? Is this what this place is?" Paula glanced around. "… Huh. Honestly, I expected more giant carrots for some reason."

The woman laughed melodiously, a sound that, when heard, made one feel incredibly happy. "I do believe you're describing the Magicant of your good friend from the town beyond yours."

"You mean Ness?" She perked up. "You mean Ness is here in my dream world?"

"Magicant is your world, not simply just your dream world." The woman spread her arms out. "Everyone has their own unique Magicant. I have a Magicant, you have a Magicant, your mother has a Magicant, _everyone_ has a Magicant. This means that while both you and Ness have a Magicant, they are not the exact same Magicants, and thus, your Magicants exist separately from each other. " She smiled gently. "Magicant is the land of your mind. Formed by your subconscious, it takes from yourself aspects that appeal to you the most, and forms a dream world that would appeal to you the most. It just takes a little while before others realize it's not just a dream."

"So you're saying… this _isn't_ a dream world, but somehow it's still _kind_ of a dream world?" Paula looked utterly baffled. "I'm sorry, I'm confused."

The woman chuckled. "It's alright. You don't need to understand all of it all at once."

"If this place… Magicant… if it reflects what I really want…" Paula stared all around her. "… Wow. This place is just… _wow._ It's so beautiful… I don't understand how it's based off of what I know and want!"

Her older companion smiled. "It doesn't matter, because it is what it is. A Magicant can change along with its owner, however, so who knows, maybe this whole place will change in a few years. Or not, depending on you and your fortitude."

"Hmm…"

"For now, I do believe a little 'stretching of the legs' is in order here." She held out a hand to the bow wearing PSI user. "Shall we, my child?"

For a few moments, Paula hesitated. She didn't even know this woman, and yet… she seemed kind enough. Unlike Ness, who gladly got along with many people he met on the spot, Paula and Poo had a second instinct for people, oftentimes correctly guessing a stranger's motives before Ness got to know them better on his own. This led to many an awkward encounter where Ness would raise a hand to wave hello but instead get redirected by either the prince of Dalaam or the maiden from Twoson, bidding the stranger a hasty farewell before chastising Ness for being too friendly with strangers _again_.

Still, despite everything, Paula could not find a single bad intention within the woman's' body. It was like all she had were the best of intentions for the people she cared about the most, which struck Paula as strange but incredibly admirable. Here was a person whose character was as pure as virgin snow, whose intentions were kind and innocent and overall required little supervision.

The bow wearing PSI user took the woman's hand, and with little to no effort, she lifted Paula up on her feet, stirring up a few rose petals into detaching from their blooms, said petals dancing in the gentle breeze as the two walked the length of the field, quiet.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Paula finally asked, after a few moments.

The woman glanced at her. "I will be showing you something beautiful and sad. It is… something that breaks one's heart to see, but I sincerely hope that it will not bother you too much."

"Oh."

As the field of roses ended, Paula spotted a creek of pinkish water, flowing steadily to the west. Stones within the rose waters glinted and sparkled like diamonds as light hit its facets, giving the water a gentle, twinkly glow, not unlike that of a starry night. The woman, still holding onto Paula's hand, led her along the creek, and as they walked, Paula saw a forest beginning to emerge all around them, with trees of mahogany and leaves of maroon, and bushes of reflective glass. The girl was amazed at the scenery, the fact that this was born from _her_ imagination returning to her mind. At this, she simply shook her head, grinning at everything.

The forest ended at a cliff's side, the creek's waters flowing steadily down into pink nothingness. This Paula could see from her place beside the woman's, who allowed the bow wearing PSI user to admire the expanse of pink that spread out beneath them before saying, "Paula. Look to the far north."

"Hm?" Sapphire blues glanced up, and narrowed. In the distance, partially obscured by pink cotton candy clouds, was another land, though unlike hers, it wasn't pink. It was a large landmass, certainly, but from where they were both standing, both could see that it had been split in half – forcefully, if the coloration of one half was anything to base off of. One half was a vibrant, sunshiney yellow – not unlike that of a sunflower's numerous petals, while the other was a despairing black hue, as if it was dead. The two land masses were barely connected by jagged portions of land.

"What you can see from here is the Magicant of two brothers." The woman explained as Paula turned to her, confusion evident in her gaze. "Twin brothers, to be exact."

"I thought Magicants were unique to everyone?"

"Oh, they are. However, it was the bond between brothers that allowed two different Magicants to fuse into one joint Magicant."

"That's… that's amazing!" Paula tried to get a better view of the shattered joint Magicant, but couldn't, so instead she asked, "What happened to that part of their Magicant, though? Did something happen?"

For the first time since they met, Paula could see the shining glint of tears in the woman's eyes as she turned to look at the broken Magicant in the distance with a faraway look in her gaze. "Two boys, twins, were once very close. The older, lively and brash, and the younger, timid and coddled."

"Once, there was a family who lived in a rural town. The twins of this family knew everyone, and they knew them as well, so everything was happy. All sorts of creatures got along with these two twins because of their special ability to commune with animals, though only the younger one knew he could communicate: the elder only knew that creatures warmed up to him easily." Her head bowed down a little. "All of this changed when strange people came and set fire to a forest nearby while these two twins were visiting their grandfather at the peak of the mountain with their mother."

Paula listened mutely as the woman continued, "Lost. Confused. The two twins and their mother were just about to escape the flaming forest when they met a beast part reptile and part machine. It was alive, and it also wasn't, but either way, it was terrifying. The two were scared out of their wits, and for the elder, it was the first time in his life to feel so afraid."

"What happened afterwards?"

"Their mother screamed for them to run as she protected them from the monster."

In her mind, Paula heard unfamiliar voices. Though she didn't realize it, the memories the woman was sharing with her was unintentionally transmitting voices to her brain as it happened, as if she was hearing it happen at the current time.

 ** _Run, *****, *****, RUN!_**

"Did she die?"

 ** _Mom, NO!_**

 ** _Mommy…!_**

"Yes. But it was not in vain: her two children fell off the cliff and into a river, where they got washed up on the shore nearby as a townsperson found them. They survived with only a headache and a few scratches."

 ** _Mom's… mom's…_**

 ** _Darn it… darn it…_**

"What happened to them afterwards? Where's… where's their father?"

 ** _I picked up a Drago fang. It'll make for a great weapon. I figured you could probably use it._**

 ** _The bad news is…_**

 ** _… it's where I found the Drago fang._**

"Their father was jailed when he lashed out at the others in his grief. In his desire for revenge, the elder brother sought out the monster with only a steak knife and his wits."

 ** _It was… in your…_**

"That's crazy!"

"It wasn't to a young boy who only wanted to avenge his mother."

 ** _It was pierced through your wife's heart._**

Paula sat down on the ground. Hard. "It just… it still… I don't know, I still think it was rather crazy idea and he shouldn't have tried it! How old was he when he tried that?"

"He was only eleven at best."

 _Eleven… that was how old I was when Ness rescued me from Carpainter and the Happy Happyists and when I took my first steps along with someone new._ Paula unconsciously clenched the hem of her dress at her friend's name. _Ness… how is he, I wonder? I didn't tell him I was going to go after Pokey… Poo, too. I wonder if the Pigmasks found Jeff…_

Prior to her arrival in the era she was currently in, Paula Polestar had been thriving peacefully in Twoson after their defeat of the world-destroyer Giygas. Practicing her PSI with Poo whenever he had the time to, everything had been rather normal for her until Jeff had showed up at her windowsill one night in a hovering Sky Runner, crying hysterically. Paula had never seen Jeff cry so hard before; the normally composed boy from Winters shed tears from time to time, certainly, but not like this. The saltwater flowed like waterfalls from behind crystal clear lenses as she had hurriedly leapt out of her bed to assist him into her room, the genius furiously wiping away his tears on his sleeve, to no avail.

Paula had sat with him on her bed for at least an hour, with him sobbing into her shoulder, and her just quietly patting him on his shoulder, waiting patiently for him to talk. Finally, when he had calmed down somewhat, she asked what had happened. The answer he gave was something she didn't expect.

 ** _They… they took my father…_**

 _What?! Who did, Jeff?!_

 ** _Strange people… in pig masks. It was like they came in through a wormhole in space… the way they suddenly popped inside the laboratory._**

 _Jeff, I really don't understand what's going on…_

 ** _Dad and I… we were just quietly working on more upgrades for the Phase Runner when he brought up the topic of… the topic of Tony._**

 _…_

 ** _He kept rambling on and on about him, asking me about how he was and all that, and I… I was getting really irked when he started talking about… a-about…_**

 _About what…?_

 ** _N-never mind… I-I just got a little… okay, really mad at him… after he started talking about that personal thing... I screamed at him and I yelled at him… I-I told him to stop… m-meddling with my personal affairs…_**

 _Why? Jeff, is it related to Tony? What happened with him?_

 ** _I haven't… TALKED to… Tony… in a really long time. I haven't gone back to Snow Wood. I didn't have a reason to. I… guess I forgot to… spare some time to pay a visit… but I didn't forget about Tony, no! I… I just really…_**

 _… What… happened with Doctor Andonuts, Jeff?_

 ** _Like I said… a wormhole through space, it looked like. Suddenly we were assaulted; my father, manhandled and thrown into their vehicle, which looked a lot like a modified Phase Runner, before they disappeared again into the rip in space they came from. I couldn't… I couldn't do anything… I-I yelled at him and now he's gone and I can't… I don't know where HE IS! I don't know WHERE HE'S GONE, WHERE THEY'VE TAKEN HIM, AND… AND… I… didn't even get to say sorry… before they took him…_**

"Paula?"

"Hm…?" Paula looked lost in memories, but at the woman's call, she shook her head rapidly, bringing herself out of memory lane. "Oh, s-sorry… I was just remembering some things… haha, sudden influxes of memories are weird."

"Memories are simply that: memories. Though it can be erased and replaced, the emotions that came along with them never really die." The woman looked towards the broken Magicant once more. "The misplaced emotions will feel wrong with the new memories, and with that, they return. So in truth, they're never really gone. No one can erase memories."

The blonde PSI user was unsure of where the woman was going with her train of thought, so instead she looked towards the broken Magicant as well. "Um… why… did you show this to me, exactly?"

"I know it's a little sudden, but I would like to ask you a favor, Paula Polestar." The woman turned to her. "Find a way to get to either of those Magicants in the distance. The one blessed with vibrant sunflowers or the one shrouded in despairing gloom, it doesn't matter. But the one that needs the most care is the dark one."

Sapphire blues blinked in confusion. "Wha…?"

"You… don't need to do it right away. Not now." The woman knelt down and took Paula's hands into her own. "But please, if you can help, do so. These two brothers have been separated far too long… I cannot stand to see them apart any longer."

"I don't… I don't understand…"

"You are a smart girl, Paula dear." The woman smiled, and for a moment, instead of her, Paula saw her mother there. But that vision soon faded away back into the brown haired woman, and she blinked, unsure of what she had seen. "But even the smartest people need help, no? I will tell you more about these two brothers the next time you find yourself in Magicant."

Paula suddenly gasped. "Wait, now I remember…!"

"Remember what?"

"I was in the Chimera Lab when I got knocked out… by some weird robots?" The blonde shrugged helplessly. "They shot some sort of beam at me, and I passed out and found myself here in Magicant. Does this mean I have to get hit again by them?!"

The woman, for the first time since they had met, blinked, and then laughed melodiously. "Oh, goodness gracious, no. That beam sending your consciousness to Magicant was merely a stroke of luck. Still, I am quite certain that you won't be needing to resort to such means to return to your Magicant. After all," She tapped her head, and then her heart. "Magicant is born from your heart's desires and lives inside your mind. If you will it, and if there are no hindrances, you can return here whenever you wish in your dreams."

"I see…" Paula gazed into the woman's crystal blue eyes. "Wait… how are you so sure that I can help these two brothers you're talking about? I'm just a girl from Twoson with basic PSI."

The brunette smiled in a motherly fashion. "But you also saved the world, didn't you? I know you can at least help in your own way. Even if it is just a little help that you end up providing, it is still help, and it will contribute greatly in the end."

"…" Paula studied her hands and let flame burst from her fingertips. "I'm going to miss using my PSI again."

"It is only a temporary arrangement with him, is it not?"

"What, Claus?" Paula shrugged. "Or the Commander, whatever. He's Claus to me. And I'm not exactly sure; it all depends on how long he's going to keep me in the base."

The woman pursed her lips. "Claus… what a fitting name for a boy so brave and strong."

"Yes, he's really strong…" Paula's eyes suddenly widened. "Claus! Oh good lord… the Pigmasks must be starting a riot now that I passed out in the Chimera Lab! Oh gods, I hope I didn't bother Claus too much… I bother him too much already…"

The woman chuckled. "He's not at all bothered by you, dear heart. In fact, I do believe he worries for you, quite more than he'd like to admit, despite the short period of time you've been together. You've made such a wonderful impact on dear Claus's life."

"O-oh, is that so…?" Paula looked down, cheeks tinged pink.

The brunette laughed again. "My dear, don't be so hard on yourself. However, I do believe it's time you eased his worries. But before you leave, I have a gift for you." The woman leaned forward, brushing Paula's bangs to the side before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'm sure you'll find this useful."

When the woman's lips brushed against her forehead, it was like a sudden jolt of electricity. Strange new feelings erupted from within Paula's heart, and transformed into a strange new kind of energy, coursing through her veins and bursting through her fingertips in pristine violet hexagons, the center of each hexagon with an angular red shape that looked oddly enough like a heart spinning around rapidly as they erupted into the air, decorating the area above their heads with hexagonal patterns.

Through her eyes, Paula saw herself as a little girl, clutching a red teddy bear, shivering in a prison cell. Then, young Paula's eyes widened with happiness, and the top of a red cap was seen.

Ness.

Warmth bubbled from within her heart at the memory, and Paula smiled.

 ** _Paula learned PK Lovin' α!_**

* * *

When Paula opened her eyes once more, she found herself in the room she shared with Claus, a blanket draped over her body haphazardly, but a pillow fluffed underneath her head. Sitting up, rubbing her eyes, she let her eyesight adjust to the darkness of the room – as was the Commander's favorite setting for the lights in their room – as she looked around, hearing someone else's breathing other than hers. Slight movement from near her thigh alerted Paula to the presence of someone lying face down on her bed, head supported by his arms as he dozed idly, unaware that Paula was now awake.

The Commander of the Pigmask army had been standing by the doorway of the room, coincidentally, the moment he had laid Paula to rest in her bed, draping a blanket awkwardly around her – he wasn't quite sure as to how to tuck someone into bed (he didn't even know what it _meant_ ) – before standing guard, watching for any intruders that could do anything to his charge. Pigmasks that passed by every now and then saluted him and asked about her status, some of them out of politeness, some out of genuine concern for the girl, but his answer to each one had been a shake of a head. _No, she's not awake yet._

At some point, night had fallen, and the base had dimmed its lights for the night, allowing the Commander to shut the door to their room, locking it, and shift his station to the side of her bed, putting aside his helmet, sitting on a chair, sword at the ready, the moonlight bathing a part of the room in a soft glow. This moonlight was now gone due to the clouds covering the moon, but otherwise, Paula could still see the faint out line of Claus's back rising and falling with his unnatural breathing. She couldn't see his face because his jacket's fur trimmings had perfectly obscured his face, but she did see the orange hair she had accidentally seen hours earlier. In his worry, he had fallen asleep while she was asleep.

But now she was awake, and he needed to know that. _I need to let him know I'm alright._

"Pssst… Claus…" Paula whispered, laying a hand on the sleeping Commander's shoulder. "Claus… wake up… it's me…"

"Mnnmnhghhh…" Was the Commander's grumbled reply. "Stupid… pigheads…"

Paula's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink as she giggled lightly. "Oh, how adorable… alright, I won't wake you, you big baby. I'll see you in the morning." She paused, and then, on impulse, pressed a kiss to Claus's hair. "Thank you for watching over me, Claus, even though you didn't need to."

"…"

Paula's gaze lingered on the unmoving Commander for a few more moments before she let herself sigh, lying back down on her pillow.

Finally, after a few moments, she said, "… Good night, Claus," and finally closed her eyes.

Both slept soundly that night.


	5. Savior of the Saviors

**V: Savior of the Saviors**

.

.

.

.

 ** _Hey… are you awake?_**

 ** _Can you hear me…?_**

 ** _Hello…?_**

When Ness slowly opened his eyes, he found his amethyst eyes staring into a pair of blue ones, peering down at him with undisguised concern. Initially, he thought it was Paula looking him over in concern, because of the shock of blond hair that his eyes had identified in the light filtering through the leaves in the trees, but, upon closer inspection, he realized that it wasn't a girl sitting by his side, it was a _boy_.

At first glance, you could see that he had fair skin dotted with darker freckles over the bridge of his nose and spattered across his cheeks. His blond hair was tousled up into a kind of styled cowlick, while his eyes were _not_ Paula's sapphires – they looked closer to a baby blue more than anything. His facial structure resembled that of a girl's more than anything, so Ness excused himself for mistaking him for Paula – anyone would have, moments after waking up from… what?

Where was he, anyway?

The boy from Onett sat up, and the blond scooted over a little, giving him some space as he attempted to regain his bearings, groaning. Looking around, he voiced out loud, "Where…?"

"You're… in the Sunshine Forest." He glanced to his side at the blond, who fiddled with the red and yellow striped shirt he wore. "You and those two other boys… I found all three of you passed out here in this clearing, as if you had fallen from a very great height. You had broken bones and oddly positioned arms, all three of you."

Alarm bells began ringing in Ness's head, and he checked his arms over, only to find no discrepancies. "Wait… huh?" Question marks prevailed in his brain as he asked, "If we had broken bones, then… why…?"

"I used Lifeup Gamma." As the blond spoke, he held out his palm, and from the center, a greenish blue hexagonal spark erupted, dancing in the air before fading away. "It took away a lot of my strength, but I managed to patch up all three of you… you were all in pretty bad shape."

Lifeup Gamma… "PSI?"

"Yes." The blond smiled shyly at him, and immediately Ness felt his stomach do a triple backflip onto its side. "My name's Lucas. What's yours?"

"My Ness is name. I-I mean my _name_ is _Ness_!" Great; straight off the bat and he messes up his own introduction. Wonderful way to make an impression, you all-star savior of the world. He smacked his forehead with his palm in disgust. "Ugh, sorry about that, I'm kind of a little out of it right now."

Lucas's gaze seemed to soften, which made Ness's stomach act all weird again. "That's okay; you did just look like you fell from a really great height. Speaking of which, does anything ache? I could use PSI Healing to get to any pains you may be feeling."

"No, I'm not feeling any, thank you." Ness checked his arms, flexing them, before nodding. "Yep, as good as new. You work wonders, Luke."

"Oh, no, I don't, really." Pink tinged the blond's cheeks. "My friend Kumatora enjoys beating things up a lot – but it's usually the chimeras wandering around these parts that she beats up – so sometimes she comes to me when she's all wounded, since her pride won't let her go to Duster for bandaging." He shifted so that his legs were crossed over each other, Indian style. "But enough about me; where are you from? Do you know those two other boys over there?"

Ness glanced to the side, and visibly heaved a sigh of relief, recognizing Poo's notable black braid and Jeff's Snow Wood uniform. "Yes, those are my friends, Poo and Jeff. Really, I can't thank you enough for taking care of us while we were out, even though we're complete strangers."

"You seemed like good people, which isn't really a good excuse, truth be told." Lucas admitted, glancing towards the other two. "I just wanted to help you guys. Fuel says that'll get me killed one day, but I believe that kindness begets kindness." Pause. "That's what Mom taught me, anyway."

Ness smiled. "Your mom is a good person. Sounds like someone I'd like to meet."

"She would've liked to meet you too." Wait, wait, _crap,_ that meant-

"Oh dang, I'm sorry!" Ness immediately exclaimed, feeling incredibly guilty. "I didn't- I mean, I really-"

Lucas held up a hand. "It's okay, Ness. You didn't know." For a moment, the blond looked rather wistful. "Mom… she always looked out for me and my brother when she was still alive… she told me that 'kindness begets kindness'. Kindness would always be repaid in turn, according to her."

Ness listened mutely as he continued sadly, "It's been years since she died, and I still lived by that saying. Claus… he kind of forgot that when he… when he…" Lucas's hands shook. "Y-you know what, never mind."

"Lu…ke?" Ness watched as his new friend stood up shakily, dusting himself off with trembling hands before trying to compose himself, holding out a hand to the capped boy. As he peered into his baby blue eyes, the boy from Onett could see the blond fighting back tears, but a semi-genuine smile was on his face as he said, "C'mon, help me bring your friends back to my house. We can wait for them to wake up there, where it's safer."

 _To be smiling, even after having revealed his mom has been dead for more than a few years…_ Ness smiled back at him, and willingly took his hand, ignoring the sudden jolt of electricity running up his arm that made his heart race as their palms touched. _Lucas… you're something else, aren't you?_

"Who do you want to carry, Poo or Jeff?" Ness queried, gesturing to each friend as he said their name. "Poo's well-built while Jeff's kind of a walking noodle, so I think you can guess their general weights. Jeff carries guns and bombs around, however-"

" ** _BOMBS_**?!"

"I-I mean Bottle Rockets!"

"O-oh…" Lucas relaxed considerably. "Well, I think… I'll have to go with, erm, Poo. Uh, pardon me for asking, but… is that really his name?"

Ness shrugged as he bent down, hoisting Jeff up by his armpits. "Yeah, I know, it's kind of weird, but it's actually a nickname, I think? He says his real name is hilariously long and he'd rather not bust a lung laughing at us trying to pronounce it."

Lucas studied the unconscious prince with a critical eye. "… I don't know why, but I'm getting a feeling…"

"What kind of feeling?"

"… Never mind. It's nothing." Lucas smiled at him before pulling up Poo and slinging his arms over his shoulders, locking them in place as he lifted up the braided boy's legs and wrapped them around his waist. "C'mon, my house is just past the village."

* * *

It turned out that Lucas's father, Flint, was once again out on his daily rounds of the Drago Plateau, looking for Lucas's twin brother. On their way to the house that he and Lucas lived in, Lucas told Ness about how his mother died protecting him and his brother, and how his brother sought revenge on the Drago that killed her by chasing after it, but ended up getting lost as a result. Til' this day, Flint believed that Claus was still alive, and thus, continued to search for his eldest son, oftentimes leaving Lucas to his own devices for most of the day.

"That's kind of bad parenting," Ness tsked as he placed Jeff into one of the beds, tucking him in. "But then again, my dad never comes home and only deposits dollars into my bank account every once in a while, so I can't be the one to talk."

"Dollars?"

"Currency. Don't you have money here?"

"Oh, currency. Dollars must be your equivalent of DP."

"DP?"

"Dragon Power." Lucas gently tucked the covers in around the now serene looking Poo as he said, "And… it isn't technically bad parenting since he leaves me in the care of Lighter, Grandpa Alec, or Boney when he's out."

"Lighter?"

"Dad of my friend, Fuel."

"Should I ask why their names are like that?"

"Don't ask. It's normal around here."

Ness and Lucas sat in silence for a good while, Ness on Jeff's bed, and Lucas on Poo's. Minutes later, however, Jeff's fingers began to twitch, making both PSI users perk up considerably when they noticed. Ness grinned widely as his glasses wearing friend blinked his eyes open, disoriented, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes, yawning.

"Ness…? What…" Jeff stretched his arms upward, yawning again, before relaxing, glancing between his capped friend and the blond on the other bed. Immediately, he raised an eyebrow. "Who's this?"

The boy from Onett gestured to each boy as he spoke their name. "Jeff Andonuts, meet Lucas. He saved our lives. Lucas, meet Jeff Andonuts, boy from Winters, genius and bottle rocket extraordinaire."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jeff." Lucas smiled warmly.

Jeff nodded in the blond's direction. "Likewise. Say, where are we, anyway?"

"We're in my house on the outskirts of Tazmily, on the Nowhere Islands."

"Nowhere… Islands?"

Lucas nodded. "Yes. I'm assuming none of you have ever been to the Nowhere Islands?"

"I'm absolutely certain the Nowhere Islands don't exist, Lucas," Jeff told the blond plainly, glasses flashing in the light. "I've studied the map of the world extensively, and quite frankly, the Nowhere Islands isn't on it at all! Eagleland, Chommo, Foggyland… there are absolutely no Nowhere Islands!"

Lucas sounded baffled. "I have heard of _none_ of these places. Are you sure you guys didn't hit your heads or something?"

"HIT MY HEAD?! WHY I OUGHT TO-" Jeff looked absolutely steamed, ready to retaliate, when the sounds of cloth rustling alerted the three boys to the stirring of the prince of Dalaam, who blinked stern but kind chocolate brown eyes open slowly, disoriented. Sitting up, the teenager looked around in an eerily calm fashion, taking in his surroundings, until his gaze landed on Ness, who was smiling and waving at him cheerily, Jeff stewing in the rage Lucas had instilled in him unintentionally.

"Master Ness!" Poo's face broke into a smile.

"Glad to see you back in the land of the livin', Poo!" Ness grinned, then gestured to the blond sitting on Poo's bed. "Poo, meet Luke – er, Lucas. He's the guy that saved the three of us! Lucas, meet Prince Poo, the future king of Dalaam!"

Lucas nodded politely. "It's very nice to meet you, Prince Poo. I-"

 ** _"ALRIGHT, WHAT'S GOING ON, LUCAS?!"_**

All four boys jumped as the door to the room was kicked open by what they initially thought was a bull with a pink hat. However, once the surprise died down, they saw that it was a woman with a startling shock of messy pink hair and blazing green eyes, growling ferociously. On her fists were black gauntlets with polished silver knuckle guards and a pink gem on the center of each gauntlet, which shone even in the light of the room. Her blue dress looked closer to a long sweater more than anything, and her tall pink boots surprisingly fit very well with her overall appearance.

"K-Kumatora!" Lucas jumped up, embarrassed. "W-what's going on?"

"Hey, I'm doin' the question asking around here, Luke, sit down!" Fire erupted from Kumatora's palm, making Jeff visibly sweat, Ness blink in surprise, and Poo raise an eyebrow. "Who're these punks and why're they in your house?"

Jeff attempted to answer, despite his nerves. "We-"

"I wasn't talking to you, glass eyes!" Kumatora snapped.

"Kuma, please, they mean no harm!" Lucas tried to intervene, waving his hands around. "I found them in the forest unconscious and with broken bones and I healed them and brought them here! Please don't hurt them!"

The woman eyed each of the newcomers critically, gaze lingering on Poo more than the other two before she finally replied, "A'ight, but if they try anything funny-!"

"I think they get the point, Tora."

A hand placed itself upon Kumatora's shoulder, making her freeze as she immediately cursed, "MIXOLYDIAN- oh, it's just you, Duster." She glared at something behind her. "Jeez, try and warn me before you show up unannounced and scare the shit out of me!"

"Oh, Duster's here too?" Lucas queried, peering past the woman. "Duster, what's going on? Why's Kuma all worked up?"

"That would be Boney's doing." As Kumatora stepped aside, she let in a man that looked to be either in his late twenties or thirties, being two heads higher than the pink haired woman, moving into view with a noticeable limp. The blue long sleeved shirt he wore looked rather old and worn, as did the pink pants – _"Are they a couple?" Ness whispered sideways to Jeff, who only continued to sweat nervously, still spooked out of his wits -_ , and he radiated an aura of calmness and composedness. "He's been barking up a storm outside, haven't you noticed?"

The blond PSI user blushed. "Um… no, I think I didn't… haha… AHEM. Anyway," The blond gestured to each of the newcomers as he spoke their names. "Anyway, Kuma, Duster, these are Ness, Jeff and Prince Poo. Guys, these are my friends, Duster and-"

"Lady Kumatora."

Everyone blinked as Poo rose from his bed, heading towards Kumatora and bowing respectfully, taking her hand and kissing it. Normally, Kumatora would have punched him in the face for even attempting something like that, but quite frankly she was too surprised to do _anything_ beyond gaping at the future king of Dalaam. Jeff looked horribly bothered by this, while Duster could only chuckle, as if he knew what was going on. Ness and Lucas only looked incredibly lost as Poo rose again, meeting Kumatora's startled gaze with a leveled look. Once the reality of the situation sank in, however, Kumatora's surprise immediately melted into anger and – was that a flash of _embarrassment_ in her eyes?

"What the heck was that for?!" She demanded, immediately stuffing both of her hands into her dress's large pockets, as if to hide them. "D'you really go around kissin' girls' hands every time you meet them?!"

Poo's eyes shone in recognition. "I think I would recognize some form of royalty when I see them, yes?"

" _You're_ royalty?!" Ness echoed in awe.

Kumatora blinked, and then rubbed her arm self-consciously, grumbling, "So what if I'm a royal? 'M still me. Doesn't really change anythin', right?"

"Of course." Poo nodded. "Status does not dictate what kind of person you are."

"How did you know that Tora was a princess, though?" Lucas asked the prince, curious. "She didn't say anything or give anything away, did she?"

The prince of Dalaam smiled mysteriously. "It's my secret."

"You're no fun." Ness pouted.

"Well, seeing as that we're all acquainted and all," Duster clapped his hands. "Maybe you could tell us what happened to you three before Lucas found you? You don't look like you're from around these parts, and I'm pretty sure you're not from New Pork City…" He paused. " _Are_ you?"

The boy from Onett made a face. "Who calls a city New _Pork_?"

"Alright, so they're not New Pork natives." Kumatora was still a bit iffy about Poo, but was otherwise trying to make conversation as she sat down next to Lucas, Poo moving over to Ness and Jeff and sitting next to them. "Lucas said he found you with broken bones before he healed you guys. Care to elaborate on that?"

Ness's brow furrowed in thought. "I remember… falling…"

* * *

 _Ness had heard about Doctor Andonuts's disappearance three days after Paula found out._

 _PSI Teleporting over to the Andonuts Lab in Winters the moment there was an opening in his schedule (which, as it turned out, happened to be a week later), Ness was suddenly filled with regret at not wearing any warm clothing, the coldness of the region hitting him full force as he staggered over to the laboratory, teeth chattering. Fingers shakily clutching the half-frozen door handle, Ness pushed his way in and slammed the door shut, sighing in relief at the warmth of the lab, sliding down to the floor, practically hugging it._

 _And then the door opened behind him._

 _Ness did a very clumsy tumble forward as Poo pushed his way in, looking around before his gaze landed on the capped boy, who grumbled and rolled over as the prince shut the door behind him, locking out the cold once more. "Way to make an entrance, Poo. Great job."_

 _"My apologies, Master Ness." The taller boy held out a hand to the Onett native, who gladly took it as he asked, "I presume you're here for the same reason as I am?"_

 _"Yeah…" Ness sighed. "Poor Jeff. Lost his dad all over again. It's like the Starmen kidnapped him-"_

 _"Except these aren't Starmen, from what Paula has told us." Poo warned. "Men in pig masks have taken the good Doctor Andonuts to goodness knows where, but from what Paula's relayed to us, we can infer that the intruders are not from this world, nor are they from the Starmen's race."_

 _Ness and Poo walked towards the stairs as the boy from Onett replied, "I bet they're time travelers from the future who kidnapped Jeff's dad for their evil experiments!" The boy rubbed his palms together in a mock evil fashion, making a rather dark face as he giggled manically._

 _Poo only stared. "Master Ness, are you alright?"_

 _"…" Ness suddenly blushed, realizing how silly he must have looked. "Y-yes, I'm fine, Poo, hahaha… and stop calling me 'Master', man, we're bros. It's been what, four, five years since you first met me?" He stared up into the older boy's eyes, a little spooked by the height difference. "Aren't you older than me, Jeff and Paula by a landslide, anyway?"_

 _Poo blinked. "If you call two or three years a landslide, then certainly."_

 _"Poo, you're freaking TWENTY!" Ness spread his arms out, waving them around to emphasize his point. "In a year you're going to become the_ _ **king**_ _of Dalaam, not the prince!"_

 _Poo chuckled. "You say that like it's a bad thing."_

 _"It makes me feel OLD, man!" Ness placed both of his hands on his face and dragged it down, looking so exasperated. "One of my best friends is going to be a king of a country in a year; of COURSE I'm going to feel like an old geezer!"_

 _"Ness, you're eighteen years old. I do believe you're still considered 'young'." Poo chuckled._

 _Just then, an explosion sounded, its source coming from the second floor of the laboratory. Their eyes widening, the two boys immediately clambered up the stairs, heading towards one of the rooms, when suddenly they saw a piece of metal flying down the stairs. Footsteps resounded, following after the metal, which made Poo grab Ness by the back of his shirt and pull him back into a side corridor, slapping a hand over his leader's mouth when he attempted to squeak._

 _"Jeff, come on, hurry up!" Paula's voice trailed out from the room down the hall. "We might miss them!"_

 _"Alright, alright, hold your horses, geez…" Ness and Poo watched as Jeff Andonuts turned the corner and descended the stairs, picking up the piece of metal before jogging up the stairs and returning to the room. Both boys remained perfectly still as the sounds of machinery and tinkering echoed in the air, with their backs pressed against the wall, making no sound as Jeff finally exclaimed, "There we go, it's finished!"_

 _"Alright, so the last location the mysterious pig mask men were at was Twoson…" The girl mused. "So, logically and chronologically speaking, the next fluctuation should be somewhere in Threed! Probably in the cemetery, since that's where most of the strange happenings seem to be concentrated, even until now."_

 _Jeff coughed. "How are you so sure that they'll strike next in Threed, Paula? I don't think there's anything of interest in Threed, besides the zombies… we didn't even stay that long in that town during our journ- ow, watch where you're swinging that wrench!"_

 _"They took Apple Kid, Jeff. Apple Kid literally lives down the lane from me in Twoson." Paula replied in a dark voice, sending shivers down Ness, Poo and Jeff's spines. The sound of wood splintering gave the two hidden boys the idea that Paula had swung the wrench down on a table. "They've been kidnapping people from all the major towns, Jeff! Doctor Andonuts wasn't the only one-"_

 _"-they were stealing away other people too…" Jeff whispered in horror. "But… what exactly are you planning to do? I mean, sure, you had me upgrade the Sky Runner, but I don't see what you're planning to do, exactly."_

 _The bow wearing girl giggled sweetly. Ness paled._

 _Jeff echoed Ness's sentiment, staring at Paula. "You can't possibly be implying what I think you're implying."_

* * *

 _"LOUSY DAMNED STUPID PSI TELEPORT!" Ness cursed as the two friends crashed into a tree, AGAIN. Dusting the ash off himself, he groaned, "Honestly, why do I even bother?"_

 _Poo chuckled, despite himself. "Allow me."_

 _Lifting Ness up effortlessly, bridal style – much to the Onett resident's embarrassment and utter confusion -, Poo ran straight towards one of the many stones in Stonehenge. This made his friend's face pale._

 _"Poo, what're you doing?!" Ness panicked, eyes widening as he gripped his friend's shirt (could he even call it a shirt? It looked more like the clothes that Tracy wore to her taekwondo classes). His shouts turned into alarmed shrieking as he screamed, "POO YOU'RE GOING TO CRASH US INTO THE WALL YOU CRAZY PRINCE!"_

 _"Trust me on this, Master Ness!" Poo promised before he declared in a voice that rang loud and clear, "PSI Teleport γ!"_

 _"THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS PSI TELEPORT γ!" Ness screamed in response as he shut his eyes, too afraid to look, bracing himself for the impact._ _ **Oh good Lord almighty have mercy on my poor baseball-addicted soul, please write down this mental will I will be reciting in my mind as I will not survive this: I leave all my stuff to my sister, Tracy, she'll need about 50% of it, but Picky Minch also has rights to some of my stuff because dang if that kid didn't need more love. I leave my strongest baseball bat to Picky too so that he can protect my family if the time comes, and King can… have my Casey Bat? Man that thing was uselessly powerful. Mom can have all my memories and scrapbooks and even my trusty hat-**_

 _"Master Ness."_

 ** _\- oh and we can't forget about dad, even though he barely shows up at home, he can have my money-_**

 _"Master Ness?"_

 ** _\- and I think the rights to my room can go to Picky since his mom doesn't seem to notice him anymore-_**

 _"Ness, we're here."_

 ** _\- and, wait, what?_**

 _Ness opened his eyes and stared at his hands. They were still hand-looking and covered in his tanned flesh._

 _"Hah… we're… we're alive…" Ness smiled, and then he started laughing, and then snorting, and finally, he was giggling maniacally, staring alternately between his hands and the prince of Dalaam, laughing loudly. "Haha, we're ALIVE, Poo! Haha, see, I've got my fleshy and mushy stuff and everything still on me! HAHAHAHAHA!"_

 _Poo's eyes reflected a little embarrassment. "Ness, did you honestly think we were going to die because you thought PSI Teleport γ didn't exist?"_

 _"HAHAHAHA, WHAT, ME? THINK WE'D DIE? OF COURSE NOT!" Ness looked manic, still laughing to himself as he buried his face in Poo's shirt(?), his laughter immediately melting into grateful sobs. "Hahahaha… I thought we were gon' die… oh my God… don'… don' scare me like that again Poo… m'God…"_

 _Poo chuckled as he allowed Ness to stand on his own two feet again. "We're not going to die yet, Ness. Not until we've figured out what exactly Paula's up to."_

 _"Speak of the Devil, and she appears." Ness raised a hand above his eyes, squinting, as a familiar spacecraft-shaped mode of transportation prepared itself for descent amongst the gravestones of Threed. Ness and Poo ducked behind a particularly large one with a tall angel with outstretched wings as Paula's head stuck out of the Sky Runner, pointing at a tall archway near the east corner of the cemetery, her voice trilling, "There! I see it Jeff! The space in the center of the arch is distorting!"_

 _"I don't believe it, she's right!" Poo exclaimed, in awe as what could only be described as a rift in time appeared, smack dab in the middle of the archway, like an eye blinking open. From within that rift, a spaceship-like mobile appeared, highlights of pink and an insignia of a pig's snout catching the Chosen Four's attention. The ship docked at one of the odder shaped tombstones as the door opened, and, like Jeff had described beforehand, people in pig themed masks emerged, toting laser guns and the like._

 _Ness and Poo made no movement as a white colored Pigmask oinked, signaling the rest of the team to move into the town. The pink Pigmasks all oinked and saluted in recognition, and with quick marching, made their way into the town as Paula and Jeff in the Sky Runner descended into a group of trees, to hide the Sky Runner. Two Pigmasks remained to watch the ship – which meant an opportunity for Paula, who immediately pounced on one the moment she saw an opening. The Pigmask squealed in alarm as their companion pointed a laser at her, only to back away when he saw that Paula's palm was blazing with flames._

 _"One move and I turn your friend into barbecue here, buster." Paula threatened, making the flame go closer to the Pigmask she had incapacitated, who only squealed in alarm._

 _"Paula, that won't be necessary, I believe." Jeff adjusted his glasses, and then faced the frightened Pigmask. "Now, assuming that we've all come to an agreement, I have a proposition for you two gentle… er, pigs. Allow us to borrow your gear, and you can stay here in Threed and live amongst its residents while we join your other friends on their return trip. Refuse, and… erm…" The genius fiddled with the edge of his coat, and adjusted his glasses again, swallowing as he stared at the Pigmasks, waiting for an answer._

 _"What's he doing?!" Ness groaned in exasperation. "There's no way those guys will accept their offer! Are they nuts?! What are they planning on doing, anyway?!"_

 _Poo's eyes narrowed at the scene. "These are the people who kidnapped Jeff's father, Ness. Jeff ran to Paula in his time of grief, so we can assume that Paula's got the idea that if she followed these people to wherever they came from, she would be able to retrieve Doctor Andonuts with Jeff's help and retrieve all the other missing people."_

 _"That's crazy! SHE'S crazy!" Ness panicked._

 _Poo shook his head. "No. She's Paula."_

 _"Well? What's your answer?" Jeff asked as calmly as he could, though inside, he was shaking. This was insane. PAULA was insane. He hadn't planned on going this far to hunt for his father, no. He wasn't that brave, wasn't that prepared. He had only run to Paula because Paula had been the closest to him during the whole journey, even more so than Ness and Poo. But Paula had other ideas, no._ _ **Follow those men, she said. They're bound to show up again, she said. Follow them to wherever they came from, she said. IT'LL BE EASY, SHE SAID!**_

 _The Pigmasks looked at each other, and then finally, one of them relented, taking off his mask. "Here, kid. Take it. And tell your girlfriend to get off my buddy's chest, will ya?"_

 _"I'm nobody's girlfriend!" Paula hopped off of the other Pigmask as they too, removed their mask and handed it to Paula. The man Paula had been sitting on sighed, slumping. "Man, James, we messed up. The Commander's gonna be real pissed at us."_

 _"Not as mad as Peter's gonna be, when he gets back with the others." The Pigmask called James held out a hand to the other, who took it and stood up. He turned to Jeff and Paula. "Are you two really gonna stake it out in the Pork Bean? What's the point in all this, anyway?"_

 _Paula stood her ground. "My friend's dad got kidnapped by you lot, and so have many of my friends. I'm –_ _ **we're**_ _– going to get them back. You're lucky we didn't turn you into bacon."_

 _"Hey kid, we were just doing King Porky's orders. No hard feelings." James shrugged. "C'mere, Judas, let's leave these kids and stake it out in the forest 'til Peter and the guys make it back. Then we move in with these folks in… er… Threed, right?"_

 _"Yeah. This is Threed." The girl answered._

 _"Are we really going to stay behind and live in this time?" The Pigmask named Judas asked incredulously. "Are you really going to take orders from a KID?"_

 _James gave his companion a hard stare, which Judas returned fully. After a few moments however, the first sighed, and lowered his voice so that only his companion could hear him. "… That pig king kidnapped us from our own time to be part of his damn army. It's about time we lived a life that was close to 'normal'." He stared off into the distance. "… Besides, isn't His Highness also a kid…?"_

 _"…" Judas had no rebuttal for that. He glanced at Paula and Jeff. "You kids… are you really sure you want to do this? You don't know what you're getting into!"_

 _Jeff opened his mouth, ready to answer, when Paula beat him to it. "I'm doing this, whether Jeff agrees to go with me or not. I've already gotten this far; I can't quit now!" She jammed the helmet over her head. "I'm going in, you guys. Jeff, you can stay if you want, but I'm going to go save your father and everyone else if you won't!"_

 _"You're a reckless girl, aren'tcha?" James commented in amusement. "Still, I ain't stoppin' ya. There're spare outfits under the control panel, put those on so they don't recognize you."_

 _Paula saluted, and then boarded the Pork Bean. From behind the statue, Ness was livid. "Is she fucking_ _ **insane**_ _?! Are_ _ **they**_ _fucking insane?!"_

 _"So they're humans in mere costumes…" Poo mused, getting a closer look at Judas and James as he narrowed his eyes. "But if they're human, then where have they come from…? Are they perhaps unwilling slaves to alien dictators?"_

 _"Who fucking cares, Paula is going on a kamikaze mission!" Ness jumped up, ready to pull Paula away, when Poo knocked him back down, shushing him. Ness glared. "What're you doing, Poo?!"_

 _"You won't convince Paula like this. Let's sneak into this 'Pork Bean' when she's distracted, and hide behind supplies, assuming there are any. Otherwise, we can hide under the control panel itself."_

 _"And why should we do that instead of just wrecking the thing before those kidnappers get more people?"_

 _"I'm… honestly curious, as to where they take the people." Poo admitted. "We will also have a higher chance of taking control of the Pork Bean if we assault them from behind."_

 _"So we're doing it their way?! Infiltrating the ship and waiting until we get to where we want to go?!" Ness's voice was reaching dangerous levels of pitch, which made Poo shush him loudly. The capped leader cleared his throat, but his voice was still way up there when he spoke again. "Poo, are you sure we can pull this off and steer the thing back home once we knock out the other pig guys? Are you really sure?"_

 _The prince of Dalaam didn't answer the question. "Paula and Jeff are fully suited up, Ness. They're talking with the two men from before: now's our chance to get on the ship."_

 _"If I die and you don't because of your Mu training, I'm going to haunt you so bad you'll want to eat hamburgers for the rest of your life." Ness threatened, but otherwise, he followed the older boy as they slunk in between and behind gravestones, sneaking towards the parked Pork Bean. Paula and Jeff – now fully suited up in Pigmask uniforms – had their backs turned to the Pork Bean as they conversed with James and Judas, who were shrugging off their own Pigmask uniforms to reveal their old-fashioned attire. With one final glance at Paula, Ness ducked into the Pork Bean, and followed Poo behind a stack of crates in the corner, where they huddled, hiding, trying not to make a sound._

 _Ness felt something poke his back, and he turned around, seeing a handle. "Oh, Poo, be careful, this is a trash chute. If we accidentally fall into this we're goners."_

 _"Yes, I'll watch out for it." Suddenly, he stiffened. "They've arrived. Quickly, move these crates so that they obscure us!"_

 _Both boys stacked a few of the loose crates on their exposed side, trying to hide, with Poo rearranging so that none would fall over and Ness checking for loose crates in the main pile so that he could make peeking holes. Once they were sure they were fully covered, however, Ness and Poo peered out through the many holes in the crate tower, watching the scene._

 _The Pigmasks's retrieval was a success._

 _As they piled into the Pork Bean, they carried with them the unconscious bodies of many Threed residents, whose bodies they placed against the wall, slumping, as two other Pigmasks held…_ _ **Wait,**_ _Ness thought in disgust._ _ **I remember… I lost that bike I got in Twoson here in Threed, after I rescued Paula… wait a minute…**_ _"Is that_ _ **my**_ _bike?!" Ness hissed in rage as the Pigmask holding the bike placed it by the side. "Bastards took my fucking bike, oh my God! Poo, do you see that?!"_

 _"Shhhhh!" Poo hissed back. "You're going to blow our cover, Master Ness!"_

 _"Steal my damn bike, will they…" Ness grumbled, only to have his eyes widen at the sight of more familiar items pouring in. "The hell?! Those are my stuff! What're they doing with my stuff?!"_

 _"Ness, keep quiet!"_

 _"They're literally taking my shit and you want me to keep quiet?!"_

 _As the two friends bickered behind crates, and two others stood guard over the unconscious Threed natives, the Pork Bean ascended, and disappeared into the rip in time, traveling back into the Tazmilian era in a heartbeat. None of the four noticed this, however… well, none of the boys, anyway. The moment sunlight shone through the windows of the Pork Bean, she shrugged off her gloves and whispered, "PK Freeze_ γ _!"_

 _Suddenly, a Pigmask's bum was frozen solid._

 _The Threed natives snored soundly as Paula quietly put up a shield to protect them, a different hand freezing the other body parts of the other Pigmasks, who squealed and panicked. Jeff, amidst the panic, managed to stumble over to Ness and Poo's hiding place, his helmet getting knocked off as he fell right into the barricade, his gaze meeting Ness's._

 _"Ness?!" Jeff turned his head to the left. "Poo?! You're here too?!"_

 _The prince of Dalaam held out a hand to his friend. "We overheard your conversation, and decided to come stop you while seeing what these… Pig masks are up to."_

 _"Paula's going to have a fit when she sees you…" Jeff muttered. His gaze immediately narrowed as he stuffed the helmet back on his head and faced forward, hiding Poo and Ness behind his back, a Pigmask rounding the corner and asking, "Yo, Judas, get out of the way, man, gotta throw out these ice cubes that suddenly appeared on Matt's bum. Poor guy's still freezing!"_

 _Jeff nodded awkwardly, and then glanced behind him. Ness and Poo had subsequently stuffed themselves into an empty crate, for some reason. He could tell: there was a little bit of cap sticking out of the crate. As he stepped out, the Pigmask dumped a carton of chipped ice down the trash dispenser, and was about to leave when he saw the box Ness and Poo had been hiding in, and oinked in alarm. "Oi, I thought we were going to get rid of this months ago? Guess I'll have to dump these out."_

 _"N-no, wait, don't do that!" But it was too late. Despite the muffled screaming, the boys, crate and all, were thrown down the chute. In a last minute attempt to rescue them, Jeff jumped after them, much to the panicked squealing of the Pigmask._

 _"M-m-man overboard! M-m-man overboard! Oink!"_

 _"PK FIRE Ω!" Paula yelled in response._

 _And suddenly, everything was on fire._

* * *

"… We fell really far after that. Jeff had taken off his uniform midair, so we don't know where that is, but otherwise, we fell from a really great height, and found ourselves there in that forest, where Lucas found us."

"That's pretty scary." Duster leaned against the wall casually, glancing at each boy in turn. "You're really lucky it was Lucas who found you and nobody else. But… what happened to your female companion?"

"We're not sure…" Jeff admitted, looking depressed. "I left her behind by accident on the ship, so who knows where she is now… did she get out? Did she infiltrate their base or whatever? I won't know… oh, Pau…"

"Hey, take it easy, kid," Kumatora soothed, placing a reassuring hand on the genius's shoulder. "Your friend's probably fine, wherever she is. If she's as powerful and reckless as you say, then she's gonna be fine! She sounds like someone I'd get along with, yeah?"

Ness, Poo and Jeff stared at each other, and then at Kumatora, and then at her attire. It was Ness who spoke out, however. "No, I don't think you would."

"What? Why th'heck not?"

"Trust us; you'll be friends, but that's it."

"This still doesn't clarify my earlier query about the Nowhere Islands' location on the map," Jeff mumbled. "But I suppose I can look at a few maps later."

"Mapson's still around, I think. You can ask him for a map of the Nowhere Islands, if you want." Lucas smiled at the trio gently. "Hey… Ness?"

"Yes?"

"Give me your hand."

Beat.

"… What."

"Just do it."

The capped boy placed a hand on Lucas's spread out ones. Once it was there, Lucas gripped his hand tightly, closing his eyes for a few moments. After that, however, he smiled, and opened his eyes once more.

"I think your friend's alright. I can feel it."

"… How do you figure?"

"I feel that she's being treated right, wherever she is right now. She's happy, that much I can feel. Your connection with her… it's strong." None noticed the strange bitter flavoring in the blond's voice as he spoke. "She'll be fine."

"How did you get all that just from _holding my hand?_ "

"It's something I learned years ago by accident." Lucas smiled sweetly at Ness. "But hey, I'm rambling. You guys probably need to get yourself acquainted with the surroundings, huh?" He stood up, dusting himself off as Kumatora rejoined Duster. "You guys wanna tour Tazmily? It looks like you're going to be here for a while, at least until you can find another Pork Bean or something like it."

Poo blinked in worry. "Are you certain we are not imposing on you?"

"It's fine. Dad won't mind." Boney nodded as Lucas ruffled the fur on his head. "Now c'mon. There's so many things I want to show you!"

* * *

 **A/N: Normally I'd hate to put a note on stories like this, but I just wanted to say thank you to the reviewers I got before! I'm really glad that you liked what I've written before about Claus and Paula!**

 **This chapter focuses mainly on the Ness and Lucas side of the story, so here! We'll see more of Ness and Lucas from time to time, if Claus and/or Paula see or glimpse them in their sides of the story. The next chapter is a Claus and Paula chapter, don't worry! Sorry this one took so long, I wasn't sure how to introduce how they ended up in Tazmily!**

 **Til next time!**


	6. Friend

**VI: Friend**

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Once, Claus left Paula to her own devices in the Pigmask base.

It was the first time he had ever done so, so Paula was, of course, initially excited. She hadn't been out of Claus's sight for ninety eight percent of her stay/imprisonment, so to be technically free to do whatever she wished for a whole day was like being told that she could use PSI for a day outside of her Magicant. However, instead of heading straight for the Chimera Laboratory, like she had claimed she would do a long time ago the moment she had free time, Paula decided that it was high time she actually got to know some of the other Pigmasks beyond their Commander, and sought out some of the captains, knowing them to be the friendliest with the Commander. Fassad was _definitely_ out of the question; truth be told, he scared the heebie jeebies out of her, and the newest recruits were rude, crass and total slobs, so she steered clear of them as well.

That left the captains, colonels, majors, Navy SQUEALS, and the Pork Troopers.

As she walked down the halls, ticking off a mental list, the Walking Bushie padded alongside her rather cheerfully, chattering excitedly. She smiled at it as she mused to herself, _The Pork Troopers are scary and almost always busy, while the Navy SQUEALs… erm, I think Claus said they wouldn't return from their ocean surveillance until the afternoon. The captains were super busy when I passed by their meeting room…_

As she and the Bushie passed a room, she saw the Pigmask Colonels having a pillow fight in one of the rooms. Trying not to stare, she hurried by, the little Bushie skittering after her as she mentally crossed out the colonels. _Yep. The colonels are busy too. That leaves me with the Pigmask Majors to get to know… but…_ She paused, the Bushie bumping into her leg and falling over, chittering in surprise. _Where… where do they even hang out?_

"Looking for something?"

"EEP!" Paula jumped up and turned around at the voice. Standing behind her was a particularly tall Pigmask Major, their green colored pig mask staring down at her almost ominously, their hands behind their straightened out back, as was the common gesture of attention in the base. "O-oh, excuse me, Major… you startled me…"

The Pigmask Major chuckled. "The rambunctious rabble-rouser of Docking Station P4-U4, easily startled? I never pegged you for the type."

"O-oh, you still remember that…" The blonde blushed furiously, remembering the incident that had brought her to the base in the first place. "S-sorry if you were there… I might have set you on fire…"

"Oh, I wasn't there myself." The Pigmask laughed heartily. "One of my roommates was, though; it was a hilarious sight when they got back." At Paula's darkening blush, the Pigmask stopped. "Sorry, it's a sensitive subject with you, isn't it?"

Paula blinked. "B-but… wouldn't it be more sensitive with you, since I was the one who attacked people…?"

"It depends on the person." The Major now examined her thoroughly. "You seemed lost when I first spotted you standing here, little Paula, but you look like you have a goal in mind. Would it be wrong for this old maid to ask what it is?"

"Actually…" Paula suddenly looked embarrassed, the tips of her ears turning pink. "Well, you see… um, I was hoping to… that is… i-if it's not too much of a bother…"

The Major chuckled again, placing a hand on her shoulder, patting it in reassurance. "You're adorably tense when the Commander isn't around, aren't you? Come with me; perhaps I can help you relax with a nice Cup of Pork Noodles."

* * *

Needless to say, she certainly didn't expect this.

The Walking Bushie had separated from Paula when the Pigmask Major had invited her to their room, but she assumed that it would walk back to the room it recognized, which was her and Claus's room, so she didn't really excuse herself to check for the moment, intrigued as to what the Major would do with her. The Major that had led her to her room was called Major Daisy, and was apparently one of the nicer Pigmask Majors, if the smiles and hospitality she showed were anything to go by. Major Daisy was thirty five years old and single, if her calling herself an 'old maid' was anything to go by. However, you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at her; she looked rather young for her age, with vibrant blue eyes the color of the sky and short orange hair that flipped at the ends. The Pigmask uniform did a very good job of hiding a person's identity, even distorting someone's voice when needed.

Major Daisy's room was located a few doors down from the Commander's room, a room that she shared with two other Majors who had decided to stay in the base instead of returning home every other week – Major Blossom and Major Rose. Said room was quite large, enough for three people, with one large circular window facing out towards the ocean side of the base, with a table in the center and some stools surrounding it, dressers for each inhabitant lined up against a wall. When she had brought Paula there, only Major Rose had been in, and had welcomed the disabled PSI user with a smile, but she didn't say a word, which kind of weirded out the girl as Daisy insisted that she sit while she prepared some Pork Noodles.

"You're very kind, Major Daisy…" Paula mumbled, making herself comfortable while still retaining the proper posture, feeling rather self-conscious around the two unmasked Pigmask Majors. Both Daisy and Rose, despite their roles as majors, seemed to radiate an aura of grace that made Paula feel a little embarrassed, despite not knowing the specific reason as to _why_ she was feeling that way. Even now, as they sat in a circle around the coffee table they had in the room, Rose was examining her mask carefully, running her fingers over it for any holes, but as she did so she looked absolutely elegant, almost like a princess, or a queen. It made Paula feel inadequate.

Daisy chuckled. "Call me Daisy while I'm unmasked. None of that 'Major Daisy' stuff when we're having tea, you hear me little lady?" She returned to the table, carrying a small tray with three cups of Pork Noodles. "Here you two are. Eat up; it's pretty delicious, despite the preservatives."

"Indeed," Paula jumped; this was the first time Rose had spoken, and quite frankly, it had startled her. Rose's voice was soft-spoken, terribly soft, but not soft enough that you couldn't understand her. "I personally prefer home cooked meals better, but these… are also good as well."

"I remember when I first tried cooking… almost burned down the house." Daisy sighed blissfully before slurping up a few noodles. "Mhm, wonderful memories those were."

Paula listened quietly as Daisy began to ramble, Rose silently finishing off her noodles while nodding in time with her roommate's harping, as if she was used to Daisy's constant blabbering – and she probably was, being stuck in a room with her. The blonde smiled to herself, glad that she was seeing another side of the Pigmasks as she placed the now empty cup of Pork Noodles on the table, reaching over to the teapot also on the table and pouring herself some tea, taking a sip. Certainly, Daisy and Rose were not the sort of people she had expected to be, being part of the Pigmask Army and all – today had made her realize that yes, the Pigmasks were human too. They had their own unique attributes that made them, well, _them_ , and, by looking in the right places, one would be able to see this side instead of just the stern, Pigmask Army side.

Suddenly, a beeping sound was heard from a bracelet on Daisy's glove, and she looked down at it. A red light blinked brightly, alerting her, and she stood up, saying, "Looks like there's an incoming message from one of the Captains. Hold on while I get it."

"Those are pretty nifty bracelets… who usually contacts you on those?" Paula asked as the Pigmask Major put on her helmet before pressing on the button next to the light, making the tiny screen on the bracelet flash a bright white.

Rose took a sip from her tea. "Doctor Andonuts has designed it so that on a thought, the Commander can contact any member of the army by transmitting a spark of PSI into a channel that is open only inside his helmet. The rest of the army uses battery power to contact anyone with this method, unfortunately."

"Oh! Commander, sir, how can I help you?" Daisy's voice rang out from her helmet, polite but firm as she addressed the ginger haired commander of the Pigmask army. Despite herself, Paula leaned forward slightly, pretending not to be paying any attention as she hilariously tried to look inconspicuous, sipping on her tea a little more. Rose saw this, and only chuckled quietly to herself, gathering the cups they had used for the Pork Noodles into one neat pile.

 _"… problem… need…"_

Even though none of them could see it, they could literally _hear_ Daisy's brow furrow in confusion as she asked, "Commander, the connection's getting choppy, are you okay? What's going on?"

 _"… open… window… help…"_

"Commander? Commander, do you read me, sir? Commander?!"

And suddenly, the Commander crashed through the window, slamming right into the table, looking like a giant fireball.

"COMMANDER!"

 ** _"CLAUS!"_**

Even though it had been Daisy and Rose who had shouted in surprise first, it had been Paula who had reacted first, ducking down and immediately rummaging around in the thick cloud of smoke, feeling frantically for the familiar feeling of human flesh or cold metal in the smoking wreckage that was apparently the Commander. Daisy backed out of the room, yelling, "I-I'll call Doctor Andonuts!" while Rose inched her way outside as well, heading for the outside to check where the Commander had come from. That left Paula to try and see if Claus was in any way still alive and 'functioning at one hundred percent', as he called it.

The thick cloud of dark gray smoke thinned out somewhat, Paula coughing as she felt around, fingers grasping at nothing, until finally she felt the metal framework that was Claus's wings. She traced the skeleton of his wings, feeling it coated in ashes, but she found no trace of the cloth that made it wings in the first place, so she traced the whole thing back down to Claus's back, then to his hand, which was spread out, the cannon that had surrounded it broken into pieces all around it – she could feel the shattered parts all around as she quickly but carefully took his hand into her own, and lifted it away from the rubble, draping his arm across her lap as she pushed away the remnants of his cannon, reaching towards the framework and hesitantly folding it back down, the way she saw it always folded whenever Claus returned it to his back. She wasn't quite sure if he could feel it, but if he did, he would've reacted, and he wasn't reacting, so it must have been separate from him.

Slowly but surely, she managed to fold the framework back into the slits on the back of his jacket, and with a lot of effort, managed to flip him over so that she could see his helmeted head, his mouth turned down in a pained frown, his chest heaving. Ash coated a good portion of his face, which she wiped away with the back of her hand as she sighed in worry, feeling so helpless without her PSI. _If only I could use my PSI… then maybe I could… do something, maybe? I don't really know any healing PSI though, so…, augh, I wish Ness or Poo were here… they'd be able to help… oh Claus…_

"… Nngh…" The blonde perked up at the sound of the Commander rousing, and she hurriedly asked, "Claus? Claus, can you hear me? Say 'fuzzy pickles' if you do!"

There was silence for a good few moments, making Paula droop, before she perked up again at the incredulous sounding but weak voice of the heterochromic commander. "Pickles… are not bio… logically covered in… fuzz…"

"Stupid, you know that's just a saying!" Well, not really; he wouldn't know that saying since, well, it was Ness's phrase – or rather that Photographer man's face. What a strange person – always coming out of nowhere just to snap a photo. But that was neither here nor there: what mattered now was that Claus was awake. "Claus, what happened?! Tell me, why're your wings all burnt up now?! Why were you on fire?!"

Emerald and ruby eyes opened slowly but surely, taking in Paula's face before answering, "It's… none of your… concern… don't be worried… I'll be fine after Doctor Andonuts takes a look…"

"None of my concern, my _ass_!" Claus had to blink at that; he had never, and I mean _never_ , heard Paula use such language before. "I'm technically your roommate, you ginger haired dolt, so if you suddenly walked in all bloody, of _course_ I'd be worried, helmet head!" She was ranting now; he could hear her voice rising in decibel and octave as her hands found their way to his shoulders, gripping them tightly as she continued, "I'd be worried if you broke a wing, I'd be worried if you lost an eye; heck, I'd be worried even if you just fell over like the stupid boy you were because your helmet was so freaking heavy!"

Claus was silent as Paula's tirade continued, though gradually, it grew softer, Paula's voice turning a little more somber as she said "I'd be worried if you looked like you were having a hard time with the Pigmasks, I'd be worried if you were showing any signs of negative feelings – which, in my opinion, are very rare." She glanced away, her grip on his shoulders loosening, her hands finding their way back to the hand on her lap as she leaned back, staring intently at the hand she had cupped in her own. Paula hung her head, and sighed. "… You're so reckless sometimes, you know that? You silly… you probably got hurt like this because you were being reckless with whatever you were doing…"

"You've… only been here for a few weeks, you know…" Claus was sitting up, and though he didn't say it, she could see the very slight twinges of pain flashing on what little she could see of his face as he sat across from her, helmet a little askew, revealing a few locks of his hair near the bottom. He didn't take back his hand from Paula's as he added, "You… don't have a very good… basis for what is reckless for me… and what is not…"

Her grip on his hand tightened. "I have a _very_ good basis on what is reckless and what is not, Claus. You… you're the commander of an _army_ , for goodness' sakes! You wouldn't just risk _your_ life like that; you make _tactical decisions_ that would benefit the whole army! I just… Claus, this isn't what a commander is supposed to do!" She was shaking like a leaf now, which, quite frankly, was scaring Claus a bit, who was unsure of what to do when someone was basically losing it in front of him.

Sure, Paula had lost it the first time they had met – he had known how to deal with it then, since it was just like treating a frightened wild animal (though he'd never admit that to her firsthand – she was by no means a wild animal; she was just terribly frightened) – but it was different this time. If his memory served correctly, Paula was on the verge of crying. Her voice, posture, and actions all pointed to this conclusion and quite frankly it was making him very perplexed, unsure of what to do in such a situation. Being the teenage Commander of an army with no memories, save for the ones he had formed from the moment he had awoken on Doctor Andonuts's laboratory table, he was very inexperienced with handling raw displays of emotions coming from other people.

"I… don't understand… what are you-"

"I CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU **IDIOT**!"

… Well, that was a surprisingly clear explanation for everything.

"… I said that I didn't want to leave anymore because you don't treat me like a prisoner anymore, and because you were acting really sweet, for someone who's kind of detached sometimes but is otherwise overall a good person." Paula didn't look up. "You weren't treating me like a prisoner anymore… you were treating me like…"

"… Like…?"

"Like I was… your friend." Paula bit her lip, sapphire blue eyes downcast. "You were treating me like I was your friend. I… friends care about each other, right? And… I really care about you, Claus." Her grip tightened a little more, but this time, it was like she was asking for some form of reassurance. "I think you're my friend too… so it'd be really nice if you… didn't do reckless things like this, you know…? Worrying's really tiring…" The blonde smiled, looking up, but he could see that it didn't reach her eyes. "I hate to see my friends get hurt… so try to be more careful… okay?"

Claus didn't reply as Paula finally fell silent, turning her gaze back to their hands. He couldn't reply at all, actually; for once, he was speechless, unable to come up with something to counter all of her statements.

Just then, Doctor Andonuts and Major Daisy came back, huffing and puffing. Upon seeing the state of the Commander, the scientist let out a large puff of air, saying, "You've gotten yourself into quite the scuffle there, young man, but at least you're alive, aren't you?" He approached Claus, bending down, and took an arm, slinging it over his shoulder before struggling to stand up again, bringing Claus along with him. "Alright then, come along, we'll get you all fixed up before the King complains."

"Paula?" Major Daisy glanced at the blonde, who had remained silent the whole time as she stood up. "Will you be needing an escort to your room?"

"No." For some strange reason, Claus felt a little twinge of guilt at the almost dead tone Paula's voice had taken. "I'll be fine, Major Daisy. Thank you. I'll be taking my leave now, Doctor Andonuts. Claus." Pause. "… Fix him up, okay, Doctor Andonuts?"

"You can rest assured that the Commander will be in tiptop shape by tomorrow morning, Miss Polestar." Doctor Andonuts adjusted his glasses with his free hand before hobbling towards the door, Claus awkwardly limping after him, unused to being supported by someone shorter than him. "Hurry along, Commander, we're going to have to construct you a new cannon, so that's going to take a while if you don't hurry!"

"I'm coming…" Claus mumbled as he tried his best to match the older man's pace while still keeping his gaze trained on Paula's retreating back. Once she had entered their room, however, he sighed, and focused once more on getting to the laboratory in one piece.

* * *

"And a little tweak there… and you're fixed!" Pause. "Well, except for that little portion in your wings. I'm out of cloth to patch that up for now, m'boy."

Hours later, as the moon hung high in the sky over the Nowhere Islands, Claus tested his cannon, glad that it was a lot less bulky than before, and certainly sleeker in design, looking closer to a gauntlet more than anything. Based on Doctor Andonuts's scans, he had damaged a good number of his ribs, crash landing into the room like that, so they had to be replaced with titanium equivalents, to strengthen them. His wings' metal framework were also reinforced with the same material, and the burned off cloth remnants had been extracted and replaced with better wind catching material, though the left wing had a hole that would prevent him from flying properly for a while.

"Thank you, Doctor Andonuts," Claus said earnestly, testing his wings' ability to retract into his back. "… I'm sorry I had to ruin your first upgrades to me, however."

The scientist chuckled. "It's all good, Commander. Any excuse to upgrade what can be upgraded! But let's change the topic for now." His mustached face suddenly grew serious. "You seem lost. Is something bothering you?"

"…"

"Come now, tell ol' Doctor Andonuts. I won't bite, Commander!"

"… Doctor Andonuts…"

"Yeees?"

"… How do you know if someone is your friend?"

For once, the scientist didn't expect the question that came out of the young Commander's mouth.

"How to… know if someone's your friend, you ask?" The man scratched his chin thoughtfully, adjusting his glasses as he remembered when he had first seen the Commander.

A young boy, possibly no older than eleven, broken in all the wrong places, bloody and unconscious, brought to his laboratory by a Pigmask Captain with orders from King Porky to 'make him cooler'. Although he disliked the King for taking him away from his son, the soon to be Commander had needed his help staying alive immediately, and thus he had proceeded work on the first human chimera. In the end, he had managed to stay alive, which was good, so he considered it a good deed done.

"Well, m'boy… you know someone's your friend when they stick by you even in the hardest of times." Doctor Andonuts mused, remembering his own set of friends. "When I was a young boy, I wasn't exactly very friendly and I was best known for hiding in trash cans. But this boy came along and tried again and again to win my friendship, and every time I shot him down, he tried again, always with a smile on his face."

Claus listened as the scientist continued, "When I finally accepted, he didn't say 'FINALLY!'. He simply nodded and introduced himself in full, and soon I found myself on a journey to meet a third friend in a different town, and suddenly I was being left behind for another man to take revenge and then- oh, I'm rambling, aren't I? A-HEM!" Doctor Andonuts coughed before proceeding. "My point is, friends are people whose company you enjoy, but true friends are those who care about you and will never leave your side during your worst times. Mine never left, even after all our fights. We were still the best of friends, even after our journey together."

"So… friends… care about each other?" Claus asked finally, after a few moments of contemplation.

Doctor Andonuts paused for a full five seconds before chortling. "Well, I do recall that Ninten and Ana were more than just friends, ohoho, but yes, they cared about each other, and they cared about me. That's what's important in a friendship: caring just enough for the people important to you."

"The people… important to you…" Claus stared out the solitary window of the laboratory. In the far distance, if he focused his ruby red eye, he could see the faint outline of the Empire Porky Building in New Pork City in the distance. "… Thank you, Doctor Andonuts. That was very helpful."

The scientist beamed. "I'm glad I could be of assistance!" Beat. "Erm, but, what exactly drove you to ask such a strange question? It's not exactly like you, Commander."

"… What do you do when you think that someone is not pleased with you?"

"H-heh?" The scientist was baffled; all these strange questions, one after the other, and all were coming from the Commander himself! It was very confusing, and quite frankly, it was intriguing him. What had triggered this influx of questions? "Well, usually I'd try to figure out what was wrong, and once I figured it out, I'd try and make it right."

Claus stared. "How do you make something right?"

"It depends wholly on the situation, I suppose!" The scientist peered at Claus through his round lenses curiously. "Is this related to Miss Polestar, by any chance, hm?"

The sudden slouch in the Commander's shoulders told the scientist that his hunch had been right, and inwardly, he chuckled, seeing what was happening. "Well, perhaps you could go to the stores in New Pork and get her something, Commander. I doubt she's seen anything from New Pork yet, so perhaps that could get her to feel better about you?" When Claus stared at him, he smiled. "I'm not an expert on females, Commander. You'll have to ask some of the wandering residents that already moved to New Pork for advice if you want to know anything!"

"That's the most inane idea I've ever heard." The Commander deadpanned.

The scientist laughed. "Take it or leave it, Commander." He yawned, stretching. "Well, looks like it's time we both got some rest, Commander. I'll just be moving over to my bed; you're free to go. Good night, Commander."

"You too, Doctor Andonuts."

* * *

 **A/N: I've got about three different drafts for three different chapters by this point since I've been thinking about the next thing to introduce to the story - would I introduce the pulling of the First Needle and the Magypsies first, or would I bring up Paula's attempts to reach the broken Magicant? Either way, I had written a good amount for both possibilities before landing on this one, and I finished this one first, so off it goes to the publishing button. It's a chance to slowly build up to something I want to see happen, after all!**

 **Either way, thanks for staying with me, if you still are, because I really enjoy writing this out! The First Needle's chapter will be a little later on, and it will feature both Claus and Paula, and Lucas and the others. All the Needle chapters will split POVs, just a heads up.**

 **Alright, I'm off!**


	7. Amends

**VII: Amends**

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Claus had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

 _Some Commander I am, taking suggestions from an old man named after sugary treats…_ His new, more improved wings did a large flap, gaining him altitude as he cut through the clouds like a knife, though he stumbled a little due to the hole in his wing. He tried his best to maintain his gait however as he grumbled to himself, the wind blowing past him as he continued to fly towards New Pork City. _But then again, I have next to zero information on how to make amends with 'friends', so this is probably my best chance. Argh, the things I do to keep everyone at one hundred percent functionality… I wonder how Paula is doing?_

He had left the blonde sleeping in their room at three in the morning, having decided that to wake her up like he usually did for breakfast wouldn't exactly help in his current predicament. Not that three in the morning was their usually time of waking up, of course, but that was another story. Before he had left, he had left a message with the Pigmasks he had ordered to stand guard outside: _"I'll be back by sundown, if not earlier. Don't look for me; I will be at New Pork City on patrol.'_

As he touched down in front of the Empire Porky Building, the few people circling New Pork City scattering to give him space, Claus glanced around in disinterest and frustrated confusion. While he had certainly patrolled the Pig King's childish fantasy of a city before, he was very uncertain as to where he should start or what even was there in the city. Seeing as that most of the citizens there were either useless or mindless drones, he didn't bother with those, instead stalking right into the Empire Porky Building as the two men stationed outside saluted him.

"Oh!" The woman at the front desk gasped as the Commander entered and stopped right in front of the front desk. "Oh, it's the Commander! What a surprise to see you here! How can I help you?"

"Give me a full account on all of the stores and their merchandise here." The ginger commanded as his posture adjusting until he was at his full height once more, which was at least one head taller than the woman. "Actually, get the merchandise, staff, and the other citizens that frequent those areas as well."

The woman blinked in surprise. "Erm, certainly, Commander Sir. Just a moment, please!" Her smile disappeared momentarily as she typed something into a computer that he couldn't see, hidden behind the desk. A printing sound was heard, and soon, he had in his hands a very, very long list, with colorful pictures accompanying it. "We didn't manage to get the information on the citizens frequenting the stores, but we have managed to give you a list of all documented merchandise and the stores they belong to."

"Good." Claus saluted her. "You've done well."

"Forgive me for intruding, sir, but what exactly are you going to do with this information?" The woman asked politely.

Claus shook his head. "I'm on an errand for the King." Which was, in itself, a half-truth. Holding Paula for the King until he was ready to meet her was his errand or task, but doing things for her was something that he had decided for himself.

"Ah, I see." Pause. "You look like you're on a mission, though."

Claus froze. Was he really that obvious?

"Oh, I've made you uncomfortable, have I?" The woman bowed in shame. "My apologies, Commander Sir!"

"No, you haven't made me uncomfortable. You just… caught me off guard, is all." The teenaged Commander glanced left and right, checking for other people in the lobby. There were none. "… Could I pose a completely hypothetical query to you for the moment?"

The woman blinked again in surprise. "Um, certainly, sir! How can I help you?"

"…" Claus glanced back at the list, and sighed before placing it before her on the desk. "I need to make heads or tails of this list and I don't know what to do."

"I never thought I'd see you ask for help, Sir-"

Claus shot her a glare. The woman sweated considerably. "Erm, right! Well, take a look here for a moment sir… I'll explain the facilities on the other floors…"

* * *

Minutes and a few floors later, Claus found himself standing in front of a bright explosion of pink and black called _Lapin Angelique._

 _Good Pork, what have I gotten myself into?_ The Commander shook his head ruefully as he entered the strange shop. Immediately after he had entered, a young lady quite possibly around his physical age curtsied to him from behind a black counter. Like the rest of the store, she was dressed from head to toe in pink and black, with hints of red here and there, like the ribbon on her collar. Despite the fact that it wasn't raining outside – not that it rained in New Pork anyway -, she carried a folded pink parasol with a red ribbon tied around its handle and black lace trimming. A small but noticeable Pigmask insignia was embroidered on the handbag she carried in one of her hands Her eyes were a honey brown color and were currently staring intently at him, examining him from head to toe.

"Welcome to Lapin Angelique, Commander." She nodded politely, wavy black hair swaying as she did so. "What brings you to this establishment today?"

Claus nodded back at her. "I'm here to… purchase some of your wares."

"A strange, but highly welcomed outcome." The girl smiled. "Please, come this way."

Abandoning her position at the counter – a similarly dressed (thematically) platinum blonde boy came to take her place in the meantime - , the girl led Claus through many aisles of black clothing, with most coming with accent colors of red and pink, though some came in violets and blues as well. As they walked, she said, "Lapin Angelique is a store that King Porky does not understand, but has allowed into the Empire Porky Building for his citizens. He is a very good king indeed, for while very few citizens understand Lapin Angelique's style, they appreciate it, even if from a distance."

"Is there any particular reason as to why the colors seem to all come in black?" The Commander asked, pausing to examine a finely tailored black vest. As was common with all products found in New Pork City, the Pigmask insignia was incorporated into the design, but in a very minimalistic fashion – minimalistic enough that no one would notice it unless they were looking for it to confirm the wearer's ties to New Pork. For the vest, it was on the topmost button keeping it together.

The girl slowed down to match his pace as she gladly replied, "That is the style of Lapin Angelique, Commander Sir. Truthfully, we at Lapin Angelique cater to those who are interested in the Gothic style of fashion and those who are in touch with their frilliest fantasies, and since the King recognizes that people have many different tastes and wants these people to stay in New Pork, he has enlisted the help of twelve famous brands of clothing, and they are all spread out here on this floor."

"I will be quite frank with you; the King usually dislikes everything that doesn't go with his tastes." Claus told her, feigning disinterest as he scanned the rest of the clothing on display for anything that looked interesting. "You _have_ noticed New Pork's overall schematic, haven't you?"

"Oh, certainly, Commander Sir." The Lapin Angelique employee giggled girlishly. "Very childish, as if the King himself was a boy trapped in his pre-adolescent years. The restaurant with the robots meant to look like someone's mother too, actually!" She paused, and giggled again. "But that's a very silly idea, isn't it? The King is certainly not just a child, ohohoho!"

"…" Claus didn't have the heart to tell her that the Pig King actually looked closer to an old man more than anything, so instead he asked, "Where exactly are you taking me?"

The employee blinked, and then smiled. "The dressing room, Commander sir. It is very spacious, enough to contain at least fifty different outfits on its racks, and three tailors for custom fitting. This also applies to the dressing rooms of the other stores as well."

 _Dressing room?!_ "You must be mistaken. I'm here to purchase for other people, not myself."

"Oh, is that so?" Her smile brightened considerably. "Do you know their size? We at Lapin Angelique could help you select a wonderful piece for them if you know their measurements."

 _… Pork damn it._ "I did not acquire their measurements beforehand because I was not certain if I was going to procure clothing in the first place."

"I see…" The girl mused, thinking for a moment. "… That is not going to be a problem, then!"

"Eh?!"

She smiled a little too brightly this time. "We'll still be heading to the dressing room, Commander sir, but this time, it will not be for you. You will be the one deciding what the dress will look like, and as to whether or not the dress our tailors will end up making will be satisfactory!"

… _Wait, what?_

Claus didn't have time to react to this; the Lapin Angelique employee had already dragged him away.

* * *

The Commander of the Pigmask army was trained for any possible threats to his safety. He was trained to react accordingly to many situations that could prove dangerous to him, and he was trained to react at the slightest movement.

He was not, however, trained in the art of dress coordination.

If he wasn't a human chimera, the amount of silks and various kinds of cloths and laces spinning to and fro in front of him would have made him dizzy. It instead, however, made him a bit frustrated and annoyed, being unable to understand the point of all the fanciful sewing going on in front of him. The tailors were extremely excited to see him there at their store, and when they had heard that he was there to buy something, well, they were sent into a tizzy, flying to and fro with needles and threads and various textiles in pinks and blacks and whites. Every now and then they asked for his input on the dress and he would idly shrug and dictate something, which would make most of them scratch their heads, but otherwise they carried out his requests rather cheerfully and even then he was still confused and _why was he here, he could be scouring the rest of the building for other less stressful choices-_

"Commander?"

"Grk-!" The ginger jumped ever so slightly, the employees of Lapin Angelique jumping at least three steps away at his movement, a little terrified. Once he regained composure, however, he turned his gaze to the one who had tapped him – a blonde haired girl, also around his physical age, wearing a heavily modified Lapin Angelique uniform. The uniform itself contradicted most of Lapin Angelique's darker clothing, being a pastel pink with white accents and adornments. A red ribbon served as a choker of sorts around her neck, and her ponytailed hair was kept up with a frilly black bow. In truth, she looked a lot like Paula, but also looked really different from her at the same time. He wasn't sure how that worked, but it did.

The girl's jade green eyes blinked in apology. "I'm sorry for startling you, Commander sir. But we have finished the dress you have designed, and the tailors would like to request your criticism before purchase."

"Already?" Claus righted himself and stood up, walking forward to take a look and examine it in full.

The dress itself, oddly enough, looked eerily similar to the one Paula frequently wore, having the same white collar and pink bodice. The rest of the dress, however, was another story. The sleeves had been taken, leaving the dress sleeveless, and a large black ribbon that was in line with Lapin Angelique's line of clothing was tied in a bow near the waist, separating the top part of the dress from the skirt. The dress's skirt was a very dark shade of fuchsia, but lace of lightening shades of pink were also draped over it, the lace cut in such a way that it looked like upside down petals on a flower. Over the skirt was a hoop skirt, secured in place by a black belt with a belt buckle shaped exactly like the Pigmask insignia, and draped over the dress and the mannequin's shoulders was a white jacket with sleeves that ended at the elbows and a tall collar, another Pigmask insignia holding that one together as well.

"I don't believe this; you took everything I said and threw it out Pork knows where to make this abomination." Claus poked the hoop skirt cautiously. "I'm not exactly one for being picky about clothing, but this looks too far from what your store promotes."

The blonde Lapin Angelique worker nodded. "Indeed. We have strayed from our usual designs to provide you with this. Does it please you?"

"Yes, yes it does." Seeing as that Claus had no idea how fashion worked, he was absolutely certain Paula would like the outfit. Truth be told it looked really close to a customized Pigmask army uniform more than anything to him, with the hoop skirt and the overall non-dressiness of the whole thing, but the fact still remained that he had no idea what Paula would like and he was basically throwing everything to the wind. "How much will it cost?"

"The bill will be sent to you for review in a few hours." The girl smiled. "We're glad you enjoy your purchase. Would you like for us to deliver it to you personally, or will you bring it yourself?"

"I'll bring it. More efficient." The tailors nodded, and put the dress in a garment bag before handing it off to the Commander, who turned towards the blonde, seeing as that the brunette he had been with earlier was missing. "Your cooperation is appreciated, ma'am."

"You can call me Nana." The girl curtsied. "Oh, Commander, Sir?"

"Yes?"

"Maybe you should bring this as well." Nana moved towards the boxes stacked in the corner, rummaging around until she found a dapper looking teddy bear dressed in an outfit similar to the males working at Lapin Angelique. "Perhaps whoever you're giving this to will be happy with it."

Claus eyed the bear incredulously, but he took it along as well, nodding in her direction. "Very gracious of you. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Of course, Commander sir." Nana stepped aside to make way for him, but just as he boarded the elevator outside, she called out jokingly, "I'm sure she's going to like your present! If you go on a date together we at Lapin Angelique can help you out again, Commander sir!"

The platinum blond boy at the counter choked. "Nana! You can't just scream things like that to the Commander himself!"

"It's just a joke, he most likely won't shoot me for that! Unless of course he decides to come back and ask me what I meant, which of course would mean that we'd be seeing him again and we might need to help him again, and…" Nana had begun rambling, much to her coworker's dismay.

In the elevator, however, Claus was confused. "… What's a date?"

* * *

When he came back to the base, he found Paula sitting by the window, contemplating quietly to herself, her Bushie friend asleep on her lap, its little leaf moving side to side in a tranquil fashion. The PSI user sighed to herself, unconsciously running her fingers over the PK No Bracelet as she stared outside, the sun setting low below the horizon.

"DP for your thoughts?"

"Eek!" Paula jumped, startling the Bushie awake, turning to face him as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. She relaxed considerably at the realization that it was only him. "Oh, it's you, Claus. What took you so long today?"

"Did the guards not tell you?" Claus approached the windowsill and sat down by her side, the dress still hidden behind his back.

Paula shook her head. "I told them I'd be staying in here all day since you were gone. Major Daisy brought me my meals since she couldn't bear to not see me in the cafeteria."

"… Hm." He'd have to thank that Pigmask Major later. "Erm, so you weren't aware I was out?"

"I was, but I wasn't sure when you'd come back, and I didn't know where you went." She gave him the eagle eye. "You weren't doing something reckless again, were you?"

"No." Claus answered with full certainty. "And… here."

"Hm?" Paula blinked as Claus thrust the garment bag at her, looking away as red covered his cheeks. He wasn't sure, but the emotion he was feeling was most likely closest to embarrassment more than anything, judging by the strange feeling in his stomach as Paula took it from him, opening it up to see the dress. Her eyes sparkled at the sight, and she pulled the whole bag off to see it in full, gasping at the sight. "Oh, Claus, what's this?"

"… I've made you upset, and that has reduced your functionality, which means you're not one hundred percent functioning." Claus intoned as monotonously as he could, though in the end, he gave up and spoke semi-normally. "I… was bothered by how you were acting after I crashed into the base… and thought that you were displeased with me… so I have decided to try and make amends for what I've done by presenting a gift."

Paula's eyes softened. "Claus… oh, you silly, I wasn't mad."

"You… weren't?"

"I was worried, not mad. I was scared and worried for you, but I wasn't mad. Well, okay, maybe I was a little mad at you for being so reckless, but I was more scared than mad." Paula tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she stared at the dress some more, standing up to lay it out on her bed to examine it fully. "Oh, Claus, this is so cute, though it looks like you designed it, judging from the hoop skirt being on the outside of the dress. You do know it goes inside, right?"

"… No…" Claus bit his lip, turning a little pink.

The disabled PSI user only shook her head, giggling. "You're silly. But… thank you for trying to make me cheer up."

"Oh, um…" Claus held out the bear. "One of the employees at the store I went to said you'd like this."

The dapper looking bear suddenly made Paula shed a tear. Alarmed, Claus immediately took one of Paula's hands – despite the feeling of electricity running through his arm again – and asked, "What's happening? Did I do something wrong? Does this bear upset you? I can get rid of it and the one who suggested it-"

"No, no! I'm not crying because I'm sad, Claus!" Paula laughed mirthfully, though she was wiping away the tears in her eyes as she did so. Taking the bear in her arms, Paula buried her face into the top of the bear's head, smiling. "It's just… I used to own a teddy that looked just like this one, and I dressed it up a lot too… it brought back so many memories… thank you so much, Claus. You… you've been really nice to me today. Thank you."

Claus managed a small but awkward smile back at her. "So… does that mean we are still… 'friends'?"

"Are we still- oh, Claus, you silly Commander! Of course we're friends! A little worrying doesn't stop me from being friends with you!" Paula placed the bear on the bed to throw her arms around the Commander, once more tiptoeing to even reach his shoulders as she embraced him in genuine appreciation. "Thank you again for everything you've done today, Claus. You didn't need to do this, you know?"

Claus shook his head. "No. I did. And…" He stared intently into Paula's eyes for a while before finally saying, "… thank you."

"For what?" Paula loosened her hug a little to stare back at him.

"… For being my friend." Claus smiled at her – a more genuine smile - , and she smiled back, going back to embrace him in appreciation.

Back in the broken Magicant, a single sunflower whose petals shone like the rays of the sun bloomed in the middle of the graying and wilted ones on the darkened, broken half of Magicant.

In Tazmily, for the briefest of moments, Lucas felt the reemergence of his twin connection with the brother he thought was long dead, and felt the love he was currently feeling. Gasping, the blond woke up, baby blue eyes wide, as he looked around the room. Flint was sleeping on the other bed, while Ness and the others were in sleeping bags on the floor, snoring. None of them looked to have been bothered by Lucas's awakening.

Lucas peered outside the window, the moon hanging high in the sky. _What… was that…? It felt like… no, it couldn't be._

 _… Could it?_

 _… Nah. I'm hallucinating._

The Tazmilian ruffled Boney's head fur, the dog yawning in response, before lying back down and shutting his eyes, letting himself float back off to dreamland.

* * *

 **A/N: I've decided that author's notes are going to be** **more** **frequent at the end of chapters, just to clarify a few things, and to answer questions if there are any in the reviews!**

 **This was mainly a slice-of-life chapter, or at least as much of a slice-of-life chapter as we can get in such a story! Directly ties in with 'Friend' and the rest of the chapters, actually – maybe I should change the story description since it's not just a bunch of oneshots anymore. I might draw the dress itself and post it up on Tumblr!**

 **If any of you have managed to catch some of the other game references I've managed to sneak into this story and tell me them, then you're very perceptive, or have played the same games as I have! This chapter was full of references and cameos related to a certain game, actually, so if you figure it out, do tell me!**

 **TheSpookster:** **Will I take into account M3's ending, you ask? Now that's a secret, and you'll find that out later! ;)**

 **Another note: PK Lovin' has received fanart! I was so surprised I screamed like a moron for fifteen minutes, hahaha… ANYWAY! Since Fanfiction doesn't allow direct links, please visit EMOLGAISAWESOME's deviantArt to view it! It's really cute and wow I love it so much** **now excuse me while I go back to screaming like a nerd about it aaaaaAAAAAAAAAAA**


	8. The First Needle

**VIII: The First Needle**

.

.

.

.

When the first Needle had been found, the whole base had been sent into a tizzy.

Paula was not really sure what a Needle was, nor was she certain that Claus would ever explain it in full to her. He had mentioned it in passing to her the day she had met the little Walking Bushie – who, much to her surprise, was apparently named Vincolo according to Claus (though whether or not it was Claus himself that named it was an utter mystery) – as his other objective, besides protecting the King, whoever _that_ was. From what she understood, however, it was a key factor in completing the King's demands, and it was somehow involved with a special power that the Commander himself seemed to possess. A special _PSI_ power, to be rather precise, most likely something in line with Ness's PK Rockin', she assumed.

As the ginger haired Commander continued to have a heated discussion with the Pigmasks in the Pork Bean they were currently boarding, Paula stood to the side, the little Bushie she had adopted in the Sunshine Forest chattering noisily at her from its seat on her shoulder as she absently twirled its little leaf with her finger, as if twirling a lock of her hair. There _was_ a bench on the side, but she couldn't really sit properly – not with the hoop skirt.

The dress was wonderful, really wonderful – when Claus had told her that they were heading for the First Needle, she decided to wear the new dress to see how it felt and if it fit, and was delighted to find that it was very light and airy, what with the material it was made from. Even the hoop skirt was bouncy, and even though it was really meant to be inside the skirt, she had decided that keeping it on the outside would be cuter, if only to honor the effort Claus had put into its creation.

The PK No Bracelet blinked rhythmically with the red light blinking on the Pork Bean's interface, which made her sigh as she made the general motions for PK Fire, missing the feeling of warmth blooming from her palms. She went through the motions of PK Thunder, PK Magnet, and PK Freeze as well, and felt her chest grow heavy, missing the feeling of psychic power making its way through her. The negative feeling coursed through her body like electricity, making her heart twinge rather painfully, and she held her closed fist to her chest as she sighed again.

And then suddenly a single purple hexagon with a red heart like shape in the center popped out from the closed fist.

Paula nearly gasped, which only Vincolo – Colo – seemed to notice, the Bushie staring at her curiously as she immediately hid her hand behind her back, hiding it from the Pigmasks and Claus. The blonde watched the Commander carefully, waiting to see if he had noticed her slip up, but it looked like he either didn't care, or didn't see it at all. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stopped hiding said hand, and stared at it in wonder, the thrumming of her fast beating heart now slowing down to meet the pace of her PK No Bracelet.

 _What was that… even? Was that what the lady…?_ Paula recalled the memory of Ness rescuing her from her cage in Happy Happy Village, and she felt herself smile, remembering the feelings of warmth that came with it. _Yes… that's right, the moment he showed up in the house, bruised and battered but with a warm smile on his face…_

* * *

 _"… Who…?"_

 _Bright sapphire blue eyes blinked in surprise, peering through the bars of the cage, her grip on her teddy bear tightening as she took in his appearance._ _ **Red cap… striped shirt… baseball bat… could it be…?**_ _"… Are you Ness?"_

 _"The question is, are you Paula?" The raven haired boy shot back at her cheekily, grinning widely as he slung his baseball bat over his shoulder, adjusting the straps on his backpack so he wasn't too hindered in movement. "Just kiddin', yeah, it's me, Ness! You called?"_

 _Her heart did a little flutter in excitement and relief. "Ness! I'm so glad it's you…"_

 _"Who else would save you, Pokey?" Ness asked rhetorically before bursting into laughter, Paula giggling along with him, even though she didn't know who Pokey was. Afterwards, however, the blonde stared down at her teddy bear, Ness raising an eyebrow quizzically. "What's wrong?"_

 _"I had a dream that a boy named Ness was my destiny," Paula began. A heartbeat passed before she continued on, trying desperately not to blush at how_ THAT _sounded. Ness seemed to be doing the same, judging by his fidgeting. "I know it's hard to believe… but I had that dream. Therefore, I knew you would rescue me, even though I didn't see if you would be fine… look at you, you're all beat up!"_

 _"Aw, don't worry 'bout me. I'll use Lifeup later!" Ness reassured. "And what about you? Do they even feed you here?"_

 _"They do. And if you didn't come, I would've had to try to bust out of here, anyway." The girl smiled back at him. "But… neither of us can open this door. The key is with Carpainter in the town. He's got it hidden away and I don't know where." She rummaged around in her pockets before pulling out a familiar shining badge. "I heard that Carpainter can control lightning, so it might be something like PSI. In that case, you should wear this, okay?"_

 _Ness approached the cage as Paula reached through the bars, pinning it to his shirt. He examined it curiously, poking it. "What's this?"_

 _"It's called a Franklin Badge. It's something I got from my father." Paula reached out to pull down his cap a little in an affectionate manner. "I'll wait here until you return, okay? Come back here and get me out once you defeat Carpainter."_

 _"Will you be fine for a few minutes alone in here again?" The boy from Onett asked worriedly. "I mean… you must've been in here for hours beforehand…"_

 _Paula smiled brightly at him. "Don't worry about me. Now that I know you're here, my heart is filled with hope that I will definitely get out with your help. Just kick butt like I know you can!"_

 _And, she soon found out, minutes later, he did._

* * *

Loving.

Paula had loved the idea of Ness rescuing her as a child. As a child, she loved the idea that a boy was her destiny, being the girl she was. Loving things had been a driving force in her childhood, and because of that, that had been the memory that had unlocked her special power. _PK Lovin'. Haha, wait 'til Ness hears about this!_

The blonde studied her palm. _I learned the alpha stage with that memory. It was a positive memory. But that PSI spark… it emerged when I was feeling miserable only moments before. But why, though…?_

"Paula?"

"Eep!" Paula squeaked, jumping in place. Colo fell off her shoulder at the sudden movement, the Walking Bushie chattering in protest as the Pigmasks surrounding them snickered. Claus turned an evil eye on them at this, and they oinked nervously, shuffling out of the Pork Bean – oh, wait, they landed already?

"You seem out of it." Claus commented, adjusting the cannon on his arm. "Are… you functioning one hundred percent?"

Paula couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips. It was kind of cute how instead of asking 'Are you alright?' he asked 'Are you functioning one hundred percent?'; it was a little like his own personal phrase, like how Ness's was 'fuzzy pickles'. "Yes, I'm fine, Claus. I was just thinking about something."

"You were staring at your hand for quite a while." _Ah. So he noticed that part._ "Is there something wrong with it? Perhaps Doctor Andonuts could have it replaced with a much more functional-"

"I-I'm fine, thank you!" Paula said hurriedly, spooked at the idea of having a still working biological part of her body replaced with a mechanical one. Picking Colo up and nestling him in her bow – much to the Bushie's delight - , she stood up, dusting herself off before saying, "We've landed, but… where exactly are we?"

Claus held out his free hand and gestured for her to follow him outside, which she did. Outside of the Pork Bean, Pigmasks were lined up on either side of them, saluting the Commander with a cacophony of dignified oinks as he trudged forward without so much as a glance towards some of them, though he acknowledged their salutes with a quick wave of his own. Paula walked along with him, observing her surroundings, while Colo seemed to react, chattering excitedly. This she didn't fail to notice. "What's got Colo all worked up?"

"The Bushie most likely recognizes the surroundings close to its home, the Sunshine Forest," Claus explained, taking a few steps forward before stopping completely at the end of the lines of Pigmasks. He looked upwards and gestured. "Behold: Osohe Castle."

Paula looked up. Her eyes widened.

The castle itself was tall and foreboding, violet offsetting most of the grays the old and crumbling structure. Here and there were holes in the wall, small enough for creatures Colo's size to crawl through, but otherwise it remained upright, being structurally sound as it was. The castle itself appeared to have only two floors despite its height, torn violet banners with what was assumedly the insignia of Osohe Castle flowing in the wind. In front of them, two large wooden doors were fastened shut.

"Amazing…" Paula said in awe before a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Wait… you were talking about the 'Needles' before we got here. Is this…?"

Claus nodded. "They have finally located the First Needle, and it is within Osohe Castle's walls." Through the slits on the back of his jacket, his two mechanical wings spread out majestically behind him – the hole was a little off-putting, however - , and he held out a hand to Paula, who stared at it before staring at him in confusion. "I can sense the Needle inside, now that we're close by to it. The Pigmasks will secure the perimeter while we go pull it."

"… _We?_ "

" _I._ " Claus corrected, realizing his mistake. "I can't leave you here, however, so I suggest you take my hand so that I may take you along."

"We're just going to enter the castle to pull the Needle?"

"That was the intended outcome, yes."

Paula looked unsure, but otherwise, she took Claus's outstretched hand and gripped it firmly, interlacing her fingers with his. When he stared at her oddly, she turned a bright pink and stammered, "I-It's a habit, okay?!"

"This is a habit?" He gestured to their interlocked fingers.

"… It makes me feel safer." The Twoson native admitted, looking away as Colo chirped, almost as though he was laughing. Paula flicked the Bushie on the leaf at his 'laughter', a little miffed. "… I can stop doing it, if you want me to… I'm probably embarrassing you in front of the Pigmask Army…"

Claus glanced at the Pigmask Majors all lined up on either side of them, and then at the Pigmask Colonel standing at the ready. "It's fine. You can keep… doing whatever you're doing. As long as you don't let go." He paused, and then smiled a small smile at her. "After all… we're friends. I will not leave your side if that makes you feel safer."

"… Thank you, Claus." Paula smiled at him gratefully. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see one of the Pigmask Majors giggling, and she rolled her eyes, recognizing it as Major Daisy. "… We should go now, Claus. We're holding everyone up."

The Commander shifted his focus to the opening doors of Osohe Castle. "… We should. Come along then, Colonel."

"Sir, yes sir!" The Colonel saluted, escorting them inside.

* * *

In another place, Ness's left eye twitched.

Jeff was similarly twitchy, as was Poo, though the prince of Dalaam was trained not to show it especially in the presence of strangers. Still, the fact that Lucas, Kumatora, Duster and Boney all seemed at ease with these odd pink haired people kept them all at bay, if only for the moment.

At dawn, all three friends had been awoken by the sound of Lucas shuffling around, mumbling. When Ness had sat up, catching Lucas in the act of dressing up, the blond had to explain that he, Kumatora, Duster and Boney were going to visit some people that he referred to as 'Magypsies'. When asked as to why they had to do it at dawn, Lucas had only shrugged and confessed that it was on Kumatora's insistence that he was up that early. Intrigued, Poo had asked if they could join, and Lucas had let them, if only because he had a distinct feeling that they would follow him anyway.

Needless to say, they certainly weren't expecting a giant pink shell house in the middle of a lake.

Kumatora had laughed when Jeff had slipped and fallen into the lake while playing a dangerous game of hopscotch on the rock pathway to the shell house, the Snow Wood student grumpily slinking out of the cold water, teeth chattering, as Duster ushered him inside the house, Ness, Poo and Lucas following after. Boney and Kumatora had already entered by that point.

When they got inside, however, they certainly weren't expecting the people inside of it.

To describe them as either masculine or feminine would be rather limiting, seeing as that, while they were physically closer to the masculine end of the scale, their mannerisms, clothing and style pretty much screamed feminine. All had hair as pink as Kumatora's, and clothing in the colors of the rainbow, with makeup highlighting their features. The one wearing mostly green was fussing over Kumatora, pinching her cheeks before embracing her tightly, the indigo wearing PSI user returning the embrace rather wholeheartedly. The one in violet looked especially delighted by the fact that Lucas was here, judging by their swooning, while the ones in blue and yellow were only staring at each other in concern. The one in orange was fast asleep on a bed to the side, and the last one, bedecked in red, was sitting on a large orange couch, giggling.

"Uh… Luke?" Ness asked.

Immediately, all six pairs of eyes belonging to the pink haired strangers turned to him.

"Oh my, Lucas~!" The one in purple crooned, examining the boy from Onett. "Who's this handsome looking young man, hmmmm?"

The one in yellow looked pensive. "You never told us you got a boyfriend, Lucas. That's not very nice, now, is it, darling?"

"W-what?!" The boy from Tazmily turned a hideous shade of fuchsia at this, stumbling backwards and into Ness, who only backed up against a wall to prevent both of them from falling over. Said cap wearing boy was as red as a cherry tomato, especially with Lucas's back pressed against his chest, but Lucas didn't seem to notice that he had backed up into Ness, instead replying with a stammer, "N-no, i-it's not what you think-!"

"Aw, they were just teasin' ya, Luke, don't be all embarrassed!" Kumatora had broken away from the green clad person to ruffle the boy's hair affectionately, trying to reassure him. "And uh, I think you may want to… check who you're pinning to the wall there, Luke."

Lucas whirled around, and then squeaked; turning an even darker shade of red upon realizing that it was Ness. "I-I'm sorry, Ness! Oh cripes, I-I didn't know-!"

"It's fine, really." Ness unconsciously tugged his cap's brim to the front and down, covering his face. "And, um… my name's Ness. From Onett. These are my friends, Jeff Andonuts and Prince Poo."

The red dressed one leaned forward. "Mhm, a prince, you say? How lovely, Kuma darling, fellow royalty!" This was said with a strange tone that Poo picked up on, and he raised his eyebrow as the pink haired people – the Magypsies – all giggled joyfully (or at least, the ones that were awake), the green one a little less so than the others. However, it was the green Magypsy who spoke next. "Our Kumatora is our darling little princess, you see," Turning to said girl, the Magypsy took both of Kumatora's hands into their own. "It's so nice to finally have someone of similar status to our darling little angel. Oh, and by the way, my name is Ionia~!"

"Oh, that's right, silly us, we didn't introduce ourselves, ooh~!" The violet Magypsy almost _shuddered_ with delight. "I'm Doria, darling, and the one sitting over there is Aeolia!"

The Magypsy in yellow to Aeolia's left smiled. "Oh, you can just call me Lydia, dear heart. The sleepyhead over there is Phrygia, and she's Mixolydia, though we personally prefer calling her Missy for short~!" Lydia gestured to the Magypsy in blue, who was idly messing with a 2x4. At the mention of their name, Mixolydia looked up, blinking, before returning to fiddling with the piece of wood, smiling.

"Y-You're the Magypsies, right?" Jeff adjusted his glasses, teeth chattering. "Why-"

"Oh, poor thing, you're shivering!" Ionia hastened over to the startled boy from Winters and immediately pulled off his jacket and shirt, much to his surprise. The Magypsy also took the boy's glasses off and handed them off to Kumatora, who only snickered, as if she knew what was going to happen. Jeff raised an eyebrow at this. Taking the abandoned blanket laying by the side of the snoozing Phrygia's head, Ionia repurposed the item as a towel and immediately began rubbing Jeff down from head to torso, the boy protesting loudly as his companions snickered at the attention.

"Are they always like this?" Ness asked the relaxing Duster, who only shrugged and replied, "You should be asking Kumatora, not me. She's the one who was raised by them."

"Hold still you little butternugget you~!" Ionia trilled as she spun a towel wrapped Jeff around while drying him. "Now, I want you to take off your pants and underwear-"

"Oh heck no!" In his dizzy panic, Jeff struggled against the makeshift towel, and in the process, went flying out of the door to the shell house, landing once more in the water that got him into the whole mess to begin with, getting wet, _again_.

At this, Kumatora fell over, guffawing hysterically, while Ionia tutted, lifting up the genius with a little help from her PSI back into the shell house, where she redid all of the drying process with a little assistance from the alpha level of PK Fire, this time without protest from the shivering Andonuts. The other Magypsies that saw the ordeal all tutted at the now redfaced Jeff before turning to Lucas. "You have brought strange friends, Lucas dear," Aeolia chimed, focusing on Poo. "Friends who possess very familiar powers, might I add."

"Isn't that the most marvelous concept, ohohoho~?" Doria intoned, giggling. "Two of your friends are potent users of PSI as well, how cute!"

Kumatora raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me your friends could use PSI, Luke."

"That would be because it slipped my mind, as usual…" Lucas grumbled. "Anyway, it's Ness and Prince Poo who can use PSI. Jeff uses other means of attacking."

Ionia smiled. "Just like Boney and Duster, hm?"

"What, is this the No PSI Squad?" Duster asked jokingly, kneeling down to sling an arm over Lucas's faithful hound and Ness's indignant but freezing genius best friend. "Look at them cool kids with the PSI, Jeff. What can you do, buddy?"

Jeff pointed in the general direction of where he knew Ionia had put his coat and shirt. "I-I use bottle rockets… and laser guns… 'mong o-other t-things…" Despite the fact he couldn't see diddly squat, he grinned at the people in the room. "I am also an e-expert f-fixer of- g-g-g-gods, i-i-i-it's so c-c-c-cold…"

"PK Fire α!" Kumatora lit up a small flame and picked up one of the mugs on the table, which had a spread of cookies and drinks on it. Pouring out cooled hot chocolate from a container, Kumatora heated it up with the PSI ability before walked over to the shivering Snow Wood student, offering it to him. "Here, kid, warm yourself up with this. Always worked with me, 'specially since it's heated with PK Fire."

Jeff willingly took the mug – Kumatora had to wait until he had secured his grip on it before letting go - and took a sip. Almost immediately, the color returned to his face and ears, and he sighed in contentment. "That's some excellent hot chocolate, Miss Kumatora."

"It's the family recipe, darling, of _course_ it tastes excellent, ohohoho~!" Lydia giggled. "Though I must admit the refinement is credited to me, of course, living on the Snowcap Mountain and all~!"

Ness scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "So… I have a question…"

"Shoot." Kumatora said.

"What exactly _are_ Magypsies?"

Beat.

"… Ah. That question." Ionia looked pensive, examining Ness's face thoroughly, as if searching for something. "Well, I was quite honestly planning to tell Lucas in a few months, since it's he who needs to know this the most, but-"

Suddenly, a blinding light cut Ionia off, Jeff screaming, "I'M GOING TO GO BLIND!" as everyone shielded their gaze from the brightness. Once the light died down, however, the earth began to shake, everyone wobbling to and fro rather dangerously.

"W-w-whaaaat's happeniiiIIIING?!" Ness teetered on his heels, trying not to fall over on Jeff, who was searching the ground for his glasses, having heard them fall off and land on the ground. Poo was the one holding up the best, though he himself was having difficulty steadying himself fully, while Boney was running circles around Lucas, trying to keep him upright. Kumatora and Duster had their backs pressed against the wall, while the Magypsies standing up immediately clung to the nearest sturdy furniture item. Phrygia continued to sleep, undisturbed, until the rumbling finally stopped, and they sighed in relief, steadying themselves.

Ness stared at Lucas. "Luke, what the heck was-"

"Oh my goodness, I'm disappearing!"

Kumatora whirled around, eyes widening. From their seat, the red clad Magypsy was shimmering, slowly disappearing into brilliant specks of light. Aeolia examined theirself, almost in awe, the bits of them floating away looking like starlight melting into the night sky. Aeolia glanced up to meet the others' awed, confused and horrified gazes, and they giggled, though the Magypsy sounded rather sad. "So it's finally happening… the Needles are being pulled. The Needle in Osohe Castle that I've been protecting for so long…"

"Oh, Aeolia, you're disappearing!" Lucas looked rather distressed. "Ionia, Kumatora, what's happening to Aeolia?!"

Ionia's face was grave. "Aeolia's Needle has finally been pulled, so she is disappearing."

"Needle? Pulled? I don't understand anything!" Lucas looked ready to tear his hair out. "What's a Needle?! Why is it making Aeolia disappear and why does Aeolia have to disappear?!"

Lydia looked solemn. "There's no time for you to waste, Lucas. Go with Ionia to Osohe Castle to check out what had happened."

"I don't even understand what's going on!"

While all of this was happening, Kumatora had moved to Aeolia's side, staring almost in a deadpan fashion at the Magypsy, though it was evident that she was trying not to cry as she stared deep into the Magypsy's eyes. "… Aeolia…"

Aeolia stared up at the young woman fondly, and caressed her cheek gently. "Lovely, darling Kumatora. You've grown into a lovely young woman, my dear. I'm so delighted to have watched you grow up this way… though you _could_ wear girlier clothing, darling."

" _Aeolia._ " Kumatora said in exasperation.

"I'm just kidding, sweetheart." The Magypsy placed a hand over Kumatora's heart. "Now, don't forget Mommy Aeolia when she disappears, okay? Remember all of your makeup lessons-"

"Aeolia-"

"- and your cooking lessons – "

" _Aeolia-"_

"- and of course we can't forget – "

" _AEOLIA!"_

"Oh, I'm just pulling your leg, dearie. Come here." Aeolia spread out their arms, and Kumatora embraced the red dressed Magypsy tightly, hugging Aeolia tighter when she felt the tears about to fall. Aeolia embraced her back as the rest of the people inside the shell house watched on, saying, "I'll always be with you, my little princess. Now, let go, Princess Kumatora. You are a princess… you are strong."

"…" Kumatora released her grip reluctantly, stepping back as the last specks of light carried Aeolia away. Aeolia's voice rang out into the air, "Goodbye, everyone~! It was nice meeting you!"

Unbeknownst to everyone, the sleeping Phrygia shed a tear. But then again, everyone had unconsciously shed a tear at Aeolia's disappearance.

* * *

Back in Osohe Castle, Paula was still staring in awe at what Claus had just done.

Storming the castle had been easy; locating the Needle was even easier, with Claus's sort of sixth sense for it. Once they had seen it from a balcony, Claus had wrapped an arm around her waist before jumping straight down, much to her and the Pigmasks' dismay. Falling had forced her to scream and wrap her arms around his torso tightly, but otherwise they had landed safely, though Paula had still been jittery as she had frozen in place, still terrified. The Bushie, however, had been excited, bouncing around Claus's heels happily, chittering noisily as he had looked at it with minor amusement.

After Paula had recovered, however, she had turned her gaze to the strange structure sitting in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by old patterned tiles in a circle. It was, like its name implied, a needle shaped thing, topped with what looked like a dragon's head staring upwards. Draconic wings were spread out on either side of the head, and it looked to have been fashioned from pure gold, its eyes glinting red due to the rubies inlaid in it.

When Claus had pulled it, the Needle had disappeared into a beam of white light, and purple flame had bloomed from the hole it had previously been in, the whole area suddenly shaking fiercely. Though they didn't know it, the shaking was actually occurring all over the islands, and were making everyone panic and scream. Even the Pigmasks were oinking in alarm as the thundering noises continued, Paula eventually finding her way to Claus's side and clinging to his arm tightly, closing her eyes as she tried her best to keep herself upright. Claus himself was trying to keep himself and Paula upright, his wings outstretched to maintain their balance as he held Paula closer, waiting for the rumbling to finally die down. When it finally did, however, the two separated, both breathing a sigh of relief.

"Was that really supposed to happen, Claus?" Paula asked him as he knelt down to pick up Colo. "All that rumbling was terrifying!"

Claus shrugged, placing Colo into Paula's waiting palm. "I'm not sure. But I was tasked to pull the Needles, and I pulled one Needle. Since that's over, we have to back to the base now."

"Can we explore Osohe Castle one of these days?" Paula asked him as she zipped up her jacket and placed Colo on her collar, since it was a tall one and could prevent him from falling out if needed. "It looks really interesting to look at and I'm sure there's some sort of history here."

The Commander shrugged again. "One of these days… maybe. You'll have to ask some of the Majors to escort you if you're going to explore without me, though."

"You don't want to come?"

"I'm busy. You know this."

"… Right."

His gaze softened. "I'll go with you one of these days, but not now. If the First Needle has been found, then the Second Needle is bound to be found soon. Once I've pulled all the Needles… then I'll be free. We can… go to New Pork City together."

"… Really?" While Paula didn't like the sound of New Pork City – who names a city New _Pork_ , anyway? - , if it was the place where Claus had gotten her new dress and teddy, well… it was probably a good place, wasn't it? Best not to judge a book by its cover.

"Really." Claus smiled. "Come on; we have to return to base immediately to report this to the King."

"Okay." The Bushie chirped, and she giggled. "Looks like Colo's ready too. Let's go!"

Taking Paula by the waist again, the Commander bent his knees and leapt back up to the balcony they had jumped off of earlier, his wings aiding in their ascent, and once they touched down, his wings retracted, and he let go of her waist, the both of them heading back to the Pork Bean as the Pigmasks marched right after them, saluting and oinking in rhythm. It was only when they were very far away from Osohe Castle that Claus had realized that something was missing.

"My transceiver."

"Your… transceiver?" Paula asked. "You had a transceiver?"

"I don't use it very often, but I do. The Pigmasks can't contact me on their own otherwise." Claus examined his pockets thoroughly before sighing. "Well, there's that. I suppose I could get a new one later."

"I guess so… oh!" Paula had been reaching up to fix her hair when she had noticed it.

Claus glanced back at her. "What is it?"

"My bow…" She patted the back of her head, searching. "It's gone too, isn't it? It probably got loosened during that earthquake… oh, what am I going to do now? My hair's going to be a mess come tomorrow morning without it…"

The Commander stared forward. They were nearing the base. "I don't know about you, but I think you look fine without it. The bow's absence doesn't detract from your overall appearance, since you still look very good to me."

At the compliment, Paula turned a furious red. On the sidelines, Major Daisy burst into a fit of giggles.

* * *

"So… it has really happened."

Ionia had led Lucas and the others to the First Needle's location immediately after Aeolia's disappearance, though not without Jeff collecting Aeolia's Memento first and tucking it into his pocket – a razor and lipstick. The other Magypsies had scattered – Phrygia waking up –, heading back to their own shell houses scattered all over the Nowhere Islands, presumably to protect their own Needles and see who was pulling them.

Poo examined the strange purple blaze. "Interesting… I feel a very strong power lurking here."

"That would be the power of the Dragon," Ionia explained, though to everyone else, it looked like they were thinking very hard about something. Finally, the Magypsy gestured for all of them to gather around them. "Come, listen to me, all of you. Let me tell you everything I know."

Duster, Kumatora, Poo, Jeff, Ness, Boney and Lucas all surrounded the green clad Magypsy as they began to tell a story. "First, know this: these are specially-protected islands. We reside upon these islands together with a limitless power."

"That power is the Dragon that sleeps in the darkness under the islands." Ionia's eyes closed. "The Dragon is incredibly large… most likely about as large as all these islands put together. Imagine that, everybody."

Lucas, having already seen a map of all of the Nowhere Islands after Jeff had begun asking around for a map of the whole island, paled. Jeff too paled considerably at the thought that the dragon was as big as the continent.

"Now, because the Dragon is asleep, these islands are protected from disaster, but its power is too great for humans to control." Ionia gestured for them to disperse a little, and they did, allowing them to pace around slowly as they continued. "It was for this reason that our ancient Magypsy ancestors placed seven 'Needles' in the Dragon to make it sleep. There is one Needle for each Magypsy. One for me, for Aeolia, Lydia, Mixolydia… everybody."

"There are only six of you, though…" Jeff pointed out. "What happened to the other Magypsy?"

"I'll get to that later, darling. Now, for a very, very long time, we have continued to guard the Needles. But it has been told that someone to wake the Dragon will appear when its power is needed..." The green clad Magypsy stopped and turned to Lucas. "However, if the one who needs the Dragon's power has a heart of evil, that power will obey all that is evil. It's very possible that everything could be completely destroyed simply to satisfy wicked ambition."

At the looks of horror on everyone's faces – well, except for Poo, who looked as stoic as always, though the fear was present in his eyes - , Ionia waved her hand around in dismissal. "On the other hand, the exact opposite is what we hope for. If a person with a heart of good pulls the Dragon's Needles and uses its power, the fate of all evil will be washed away, and all life as we know it will shine brightly. That is what is told."

"Finally, listen to this, but don't worry. When each of our seven Needles is pulled, we Magypsies will cease to be, our millenia-long lives over." Ionia smiled brightly. "Isn't that just romantic of us?"

"Romantic?! You guys disappear and you think that's romantic?!" Jeff asked.

Duster rubbed the back of his head. "Well, they're Magypsies. They've lived long enough to see enough of the world, so of course they kinda think it's romantic."

"You are absolutely correct, Duster dear." Ionia placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder this time. "There is one other legend, however. Whoever possesses the power of PK Love can pull the Needles… and even we Magypsies can't use PK Love."

"… so…?" Ness wondered out loud.

Kumatora's eyes widened. "Luke. Luke can use PK Love. Does that mean…?"

"Lucas is a chosen boy. He has the power to pull the other Needles because of his special PSI, PK Love." Ionia turned to Ness this time. "I sensed a similar power from you, Ness darling, but it's not exactly PK Love, is it?"

Ness let a rainbow of hexagons emerge from his palm. "Yeah. I have special PSI too, but it's PK Rockin'."

"I see…" Ionia faced the purple flame Poo had been examining earlier, staring at it. "… I can't feel anything from the puller of this Needle, though. Supposedly us Magypsies can feel if the person who pulled the Needles has a dark or light heart, but I can't feel anything from this at all." Ionia mulled over this for a while. "Could it be that there are people out there without hearts…? Hm…"

Boney sniffed around, and then barked loudly, catching the attention of everyone in the courtyard. Lucas looked at him curiously. "What is it, boy?"

"Woof! Woof woof! _(L-l-look over there, Lucas!)_ " The dog padded over to two objects sitting not too far away from where they were, circling it as the others came closer to take a look.

"A… transceiver?" Jeff asked in confusion as Lucas picked up the gadget. "What's that doing here?"

"I don't know… but I'm keeping it." Lucas tucked the transceiver into his pocket just as Ness's eyes widened at the second object, the violet eyed boy choking a little. The blond immediately faced him in worry, asking, "Ness? Are you okay?"

"R-r-r… grk…" Ness pointed at the offending object, Poo and Jeff following his finger to it, only to gasp as well, recognizing it.

Paula's ribbon.

"Paula was here!" Ness immediately took the ribbon, feeling it, as though it would bring back Paula. The red ribbon was frayed and torn at the edges, but it was still keeping rather well. The Onett native could still see the burns on the edge from when they had been at the last Your Sanctuary, which confirmed that the ribbon really did belong to their lost friend. The boy felt tears welling up in his eyes as he whispered, "Pau…"

Lucas placed a hand on his arm tentatively. "Hey… don't cry, Ness. If your friend's ribbon was here, then that means she's still alive, right? So cheer up!" He smiled brightly at the raven haired boy before sighing, brushing away his tears with the back of his hand. "C'mon, stop crying. It's gonna be okay."

"… Thanks Luke." Ness smiled before pausing, thinking for a moment. Finally, he handed the ribbon to Poo, who stared at it thoughtfully before asking, "What do you want me to do with it, Master Ness?"

The capped boy replied, "Tie it on the end of your braid, Poo. So we don't lose it, and we always have Paula with us."

"That's actually a semblance of a good idea." Kumatora commented as Poo deftly knotted the ribbon into a bow on the end of his braid. Truthfully, he looked absolutely ridiculous, being the crown prince of Dalaam wearing a large red bow on the end of his braid, but since all of them knew the connotations of the braid, they didn't laugh, instead turning to Ionia, who said, "You all need to get back to Tazmily. Take that shortcut over there to the right of the needle, across from the secret entrance we used to get here from Aeolia's house."

Kumatora looked at the Magypsy. "What about you, Ionia?"

"I'm going back home to my Needle. I'm worried about my own Needle now…" Ionia pressed a kiss to Kumatora's forehead reassuringly. "Don't worry, my darling little princess. I'm sure we will all meet again… but if we don't, then one of us has already left this world!" The Magypsy giggled before waving. "Byebyeeee~!"

And then, for some unexplainable reason, Ionia struck a pose, turned paper thin, and floated away, never to be seen again.

Ness and the others stared up incredulously, Kumatora the only one sighing in exasperation, having already seen Ionia's mode of transportation. "That's normal for the Magypsies, guys. Now c'mon, we gotta get back to Tazmily!"

* * *

 **A/N: I'm procrastinating. I'm literally procrastinating really hard. I'm going to do all my school requirements now and not sleep HAHAHAHA- anyway.**

 **We all know how the original First Needle pulling really played out in the game (for those who've already played M3, of course), so this one is a modified version. I keep forgetting to use gender neutral pronouns for the Magypsies so I ended up using female pronouns a lot during the first draft, but anyway.**

 **I dunno about you guys but I'm going to stay away from the second Needle for a while, if only to PREVENT MY OWN TEARS- ahem. More Claula, hooray! :3**


	9. What are Friends For?

**IX: What Are Friends For?**

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At the edge of the cliff that overlooked the sea, Poo meditated.

Lucas had already woken up many hours ago at five o'clock sharp, helping his father tend to the livestock. Flint had been hospitable to them for the past few weeks, willingly taking in the three newcomers when his son had asked, though he was a bit iffy when it came to the suggestion that Lucas share his bed with one of the newcomers. In the end, the three boys ended up sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags Duster managed to scrounge up, while Lucas occupied one bed and Flint occupied the other. Kumatora bunked with Duster most of the time, seeing as that the Magypsy shell houses were very spread out and the only one that was even remotely close to Tazmily was Aeolia's house and that took at least fifteen minutes, but as to _where_ they were bunking… nobody really knew.

Breathing in the fresh air, Poo felt his tension melt away, even if just a little. Tazmily, despite its slow ascent (or descent, if Lucas's sentiments toward the matter were anything to take into account) into modernization, was still a little village, and little villages usually housed the cleanest air around. Since Lucas's house was on the outskirts of Tazmily, nearest to the ocean, then the air was even fresher, though the smell of sheep could have been a little less pungent. Still, the three boys were grateful for the atmosphere, being used to vastly different environments.

Ness had gone off with Lucas by seven o'clock, heading into town to meet with the few people their age and receive some updates on the ones that had or were already in the process of moving to New Pork City. Jeff was currently with another new friend in town, a boy named Nichol, and Poo was alone on the cliff, letting his thoughts gather.

The sound of grass being stepped on alerted the prince to the presence of another person beside him, but he did not open his eyes, continuing to meditate. He _was_ curious as to who it was though: was it Ness, or Lucas, back from their trip? Jeff, back from his friendly encounter with Nichol?

"You're… Prince Poo, right?"

The future king of Dalaam finally paused in his meditation to open his eyes and look beside and above him, gazing upon a pair of timid lilac eyes, which were staring at him in both curiosity and cautiousness. The owner of said eyes was a girl that looked to be around Lucas's age, if not younger, with pale, almost snow white skin – the only semblance of life still in her was indicated by the bright red blush on her cheeks and the tips of her fingers and elbows – and hair like freshly fallen snow, two short braids framing her face. Her attire comprised of a pink bell sleeved shirt and a sky blue skirt, held up by two dark blue suspenders. Her knee socks were striped blue and white, and her shoes were fuchsia.

"That I am," Poo replied after a few moments, leaving his meditation stance to stare up at the white haired girl, dangling his feet over the edge of the cliff. "I remember you; Lucas introduced us to you and his other friends on our tour around Tazmily. You're Lady Alle, right?"

She nodded. "Just Alle is fine… can I sit next to you?"

"Be my guest."

The white haired girl smiled, taking her seat next to him and dangling her feet over the edge as well, hands clasped on her lap as she sighed, taking in the view with him. "We don't usually get many visitors in Tazmily, you know."

"Your town seems like a secluded one, if any," Poo agreed, staring off into the horizon. "How have you been faring so far with all these modernizations to your town? What do you think of it?"

Alle shrugged. "Honestly, I've been pretty neutral towards the whole thing. Lucas thinks it's like the greatest evil Tazmily's ever had, but I think he's just acting really silly." The girl twiddled her thumbs idly. "He's always been really silly, even when we were kids."

"Perhaps his distaste is not truly unfounded?" Poo mused, turning to look at the Tazmily resident. "From what I've managed to see from him, Lucas is not someone who would harbor unfounded feelings of that sort without some sort of basis for it."

Alle looked down at her hands. "I guess so… but I still think he's acting silly. I mean, sure the animals are all weird now… but at least we have access to better medicine now, right?" She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of the sea. "It's just… don't you think that all things have good and bad sides to them?"

"The universal concept of balance between light and darkness," Poo recalled, having had the lesson drilled into his brain as a child by the one who taught him the way of the Starstorm. "It is said that light cannot exist without darkness, and darkness cannot exist without light. Such is the balance that keeps this world together, and keeps all things in order."

Alle let out a puff of air. "You sound like Nichol whenever he's telling Richie off."

"How so?"

"Well… you both say really strange things that make me feel all weird inside," Alle admitted, tugging on her sleeve a little in embarrassment. "It's like, sometimes they're butterflies, and sometimes they're like mole crickets nagging at me and saying, 'They've got a point. Blah blah blah the world is not forever blah blah'."

Poo looked at her with amusement. "I do believe I didn't say 'the world is not forever'."

"You get the point, don't you?" Because of her abnormally pale skin, Alle's blush was incredibly prominent, being redder than the reddest cherry tomatoes. "It's like you guys know everything there is to know about the world… and sometimes that makes me think really hard."

The prince smiled. "I don't know everything. Nobody really knows everything; we are always learning new things every day, aren't we?"

"Yeah…" Alle quietly looked towards the red ribbon tied on the end of Poo's braid. "You know, that's a cute ribbon."

Poo blinked, and then took the end of his braid in one of his hands, tracing his fingers over the bow tied to it. "It belongs to a friend we have yet to meet again. Master Ness says that by tying this to my braid, we will be keeping a piece of her close to us at all times."

"That's so sweet…" Alle smiled, sighing. "You guys seem really tight-knit."

"Are you not tightly knit as well with Lucas?" Poo queried, staring at her intently. "There are more of you here in town than us three; surely you've grown close with a few of them as well."

Alle thought about this for a bit, biting her lip. "… Lucas has been pretty distant with a lot of the people from Tazmily, ever since they started getting the Happy Boxes. He talks to them a lot, yes, but whenever he walks by our house, I can see it in his posture, in his eyes, in his whole being: he really doesn't like anyone in Tazmily anymore."

"Are you sure that he doesn't like _anyone_?"

Beat. "… Well… he still likes me, kind of, even though I kind of lied about knowing the DCMC." Thinking about it some more, Alle giggled. "Come to think of it, no, Lucas doesn't like a lot of people from Tazmily, but he's really close to all of us who grew up with him. He's distant with the adults, but not with us."

"See?" Poo grinned. "You as well have a tight-knit group of friends, though you are more than me, Jeff and Master Ness. As long as you all remain close, your friendship will pull you all through your hardships. I've learned this on my journey with them, and I will keep that lesson in my heart for as long as I live."

The white haired girl from Tazmily smiled again. "Thanks, Prince Poo. You know, for a prince, you don't act too princelike."

"Just 'Poo' will do, you know." Poo informed her jocularly, quoting her. "And I've been informed that too many times, I'm afraid. Surely that is a good thing, somehow?"

Alle grinned. "Yeah; you're certainly a lot more approachable like this!"

"Am I interrupting something, you two?"

"Oh!" Alle and Poo both turned to see a spritely looking honey brunette, some of her hair held up in twin buns not unlike the ones that Poo frequently saw on a few of his admirers back in Dalaam. The rest of her hair fell from her buns like wayward springs, some of them framing her face, while straight cut bangs fell across her forehead, only a few centimeters above her eyebrows. Unlike Alle, her face was full of color, though the fact that she had sun kissed skin was not explained by her long sleeved yellow-orange dress, collared with white and accented by brighter yellows. Her socks were white, and she wore red ballet flats. "Richie, when did you get here?"

Richie's lips pursed, though her amber eyes twinkled in amusement. "I've been here for a while. What's this about Poo being 'a lot more approachable like this', hm?"

Alle's cheeks looked like it had been smeared with ketchup, the way it reddened, something which didn't fail to make Poo chuckle. "R-Richie-!"

"I'm just joking, Allie, calm down." The brunette giggled harmoniously as Alle turned an even brighter red, though this time it was in embarrassment.

Poo smiled as well. "Is there… any particular reason why you're here, Lady Richie?"

"You know, just 'Richie' is fine as well, but hey, I haven't been called a lady yet, so haha." Richie glanced around before facing Poo, informing him, "Lucas sent me up here on Kumatora's wishes, actually. He's telling me to gather up all the gang." At Poo's confused look, she clarified, "He means your group – you, Jeff, and that Ness guy who looks like a lovesick puppy following Lucas around - , and then our group – me, Alle, Fuel, Nichol, Angie, and Nana, but Nana doesn't seem to be back from work yet."

The prince raised an eyebrow. "I do believe none of us have met Nana yet." Pause. "… A lovesick puppy?"

"Oh, that would be because she was at her part-time job in New Pork City. And you gotta admit, he _does_ look lovesick 'round Lucas." Richie rolled her eyes at the thought before she held out a hand to them. "C'mon, you two, the others are waiting!"

* * *

Lucas was still rather confused as to what exactly Kumatora was planning, gathering all of them in one place. Usually the princess of Osohe castle didn't like large gatherings beyond that of the Magypsy parties, and even then, she was fidgety and unable to keep herself in one place. And for that matter, she had called for even the Tazmily kids, who she didn't really talk to unless absolutely necessary!

Sitting on a tree stump, Lucas absently ran his fingers through Ness's raven hair, the aforementioned boy's head leaning against his thigh as he sat next to the tree stump Lucas was sitting on, snoring loudly. He, along with Fuel and Angie, were currently waiting near Isaac's house by the hot spring, the steam from the hot spring rising like wisps of breath in the winter.

Ness's cap was in Angie's hands, the girl tracing all the stitches and worn out places on the headwear with her tan fingers, her rose pink eyes blinking in a bored fashion as she dangled her feet in the hot spring, her long white socks and black Mary Janes thrown haphazardly to the side. Her yellow dress with black accents' skirt was gathered underneath her so as not to soak in all the water. Fuel, on the other hand, was treading the waters carefully, his red raglan and black pants hanging on the sign that said 'Kokori Hot Spring', his red rubber shoes and white socks arranged neatly below it. His spiked brown hair, despite the steam and the water, still remained in its upright form, which baffled everyone, but nobody commented.

Ness let out a loud snort, which made Angie make a face. "Lucas, your boyfriend snores so _loudly_. I'm surprised you get any sleep."

"Personally I think it's kinda cute." Lucas paused, letting his childhood friend's words sink in. Once they did, his freckled face turned a hilarious shade of pink as he stammered, "H-He's not my boyfriend, Angie!"

The pigtailed girl rolled her eyes, the red baubles holding her pigtails up bouncing as she shook her head, throwing the cap at Lucas's lap. "Mm-hm. Keep convincing yourself, Lukey. That's a totally believable voice right there. Yep, I'm totally convinced."

"…" Lucas looked away, still embarrassed. It had been weeks now since Ness, Jeff and Poo had been made honorary citizens of the little village of Tazmily, and already they had settled in rather fine, though Lucas had a sinking feeling in his stomach that it was due to the technology that Tazmily was slowly incorporating into itself. All of his childhood friends had commented when he had toured the trio that Ness seemed particularly attached to him – Richie's comment had been rather salty until Nichol had smacked the back of her head with a pocketbook -, and well, quite frankly, it made Lucas want to melt in a puddle of blond haired embarrassment.

Truthfully, of course, he thought that the Onett native _was_ very cute, and had considered at least a few times that he may or may not have a crush on him. No, that was wrong: he was _absolutely certain_ that he had a crush on the raven haired bat wielder-

Ness sniffled in his sleep before snuggling closer to Lucas's thigh, snoring again.

Lucas's face colored a deep red. No, scratch that, he didn't just have a crush on Ness: he was falling for him. And _hard_.

"You're hopeless, you know that?" Angie commented at the sight of Lucas's red face, Fuel snickering bubbles underwater, his hair sticking out in such a way that it looked like a shark fin peeking out from the waters. "Ugh, honestly, you never change, Lucas."

Lucas stuck his tongue out at Angie, though he was still embarrassed, as Richie's voice finally sang out, "Yoo-hoooo! I got my mitts on Princey and Alliekins!"

"'Princey'?" Fuel popped out of the water, raising an eyebrow, only to burst out laughing when he found out that it was actually Poo that his friend was referring to, the prince of Dalaam waving politely to both Angie and Fuel. He would have waved to Lucas too, except the sight of his daring leader snoozing in such a strange position, snuggling against the blond's thigh, was rather odd and awkward. At his raised eyebrow, Lucas cast his gaze down, blushing furiously.

Alle, at the sight of Fuel in the hot spring, groaned. "Fuel, get out of the hot spring, you don't need to refresh yourself anymore!"

"Says who?" Fuel mocked, treading his way over to the edge of the hot spring where Alle had crouched down, giving the white haired girl a suggestive look. "If you want, you could come join me, you know-"

"Flirt with another girl again and I'll make sure Nichol throws you off a cliff." Angie wasn't looking, really; she was busy cooing in a motherly fashion to a sparrow that had perched on her finger. However, everyone who could see her could see the dark look that had crossed her face as she said this in the calmest voice possible. Fuel's whole body shivered in terror at this, and the brunet eventually surfaced from the spring, pulling his pants and raglan on as Jeff and Nichol finally arrived, the two glass-eyed boys still chatting rather animatedly with each other while Boney and Duster treaded behind them, the dog trotting cheerfully up to Lucas and licking his cheek.

Lucas laughed. "I missed you too Boney. Did they give you guys any trouble?"

"It took a while before we managed to pry them off a Happy Box," Duster admitted. "Jeff was very interested in what made up a Happy Box. But at least they came, right?"

"Wrooooof! _(Enough about us, though; what about YOU?)_ " Boney sniffed the sleeping Ness's body before barking humorously, "Wroof, rrrrowf- _(Y'know, Lucas, you two look really-)"_

"OH-KAY," Lucas interrupted loudly, shoving his dog's snout away as he waved his arm at Jeff and Nichol. "C'mon Jeff, Nick, come closer. Kumatora'll be here any moment now, and we'll finally find out what's going on."

"Richie, what are you doing?" Despite the fact that they weren't twins, Nichol was around Richie's age, being only a meager nine months older than her. The large round lenses he wore helped in making others think he was older than his bun wearing sister, his curly honey brown hair always looking like a bird's nest due to the fact that nobody could fix its messiness. Unlike Richie, who had sun kissed skin, Nichol was pale, though not as pale as Alle, and freckles dotted the bridge of his nose and cheeks just like Lucas, though unlike the blond, his freckles reached down to his neck, and it looked like they reached up to his shoulders as well. The glare his glasses usually had hid his golden eyes from view, and his attire – a green jacket over a white dress shirt and black pants and a black bowtie – was usually unkempt or dirty. Today, however, it was relatively clean, save for the spot of oil on the edge of his sleeve.

Richie blinked. "What do you _think_ I'm doing?"

"I think that you've been clinging to Prince Poo like a Titany that found a mate and won't let go." Nichol deadpanned, taking his sister by the shoulders and prying her off of the amused Dalaamese, his sister whining and batting him away, to no avail. "Seriously, Rich, let go of Prince Poo! He's not a stuffed animal you can hug all the time!"

Richie grumbled, "He makes me feel _safe_ , Nichol."

"Safe from _what_?!"

"Safe from your annoying nerd germs!"

"Say that to my face, salt-for-brains!"

"I just did, you bitter gourd!"

"Aaaand there they go again…" Angie pinched the bridge of her nose in mock irritation as the two honey brunettes began flapping their hands at each other in a comedic fashion, almost as if they were in a cartoon. "Ugh, break it up, you two, it's getting old seeing you fight like an old married couple."

Immediately, both siblings jumped away from each other, Nichol to Jeff's side, and Richie to Poo's. Richie stuck out her tongue. "Nobody would want to marry Nicky, he looks like an old nerd!"

"If I look like an old nerd, then that means you look like an old hag, you hag!" Nichol stuck his tongue right back out at his sister, who fumed and made gestures with her hands that implied that she wanted to strangle him.

"Look, you can fight later, Kumatora's coming!" Fuel whistled loudly, and immediately, the newcomers all scattered near the stump where Lucas and Ness were positioned, Angie removing her feet from the spring and drying them before putting her socks and shoes back on, just as the pink haired princess approached, looking a little worse for wear, but otherwise okay, shrugging off the gaudy blue feathered gauntlets she was wearing and replacing them with her usual black, more inconspicuous ones. She flexed her hands in relief as she eyed the group, eyes barely grazing each of them, as if counting them all off.

After a few minutes, she realized something. "Where's that other girl? Y'know, Pinky?"

"Look who's _talking_ …" Fuel whispered to Lucas sideways, the blond unintentionally snorting in amusement. He covered his mouth and nose in alarm, the tips of his ears reddening as Alle giggled at him.

Richie yawned. "I think… Nana's still at work, Kumatora. She won't be back until later, probably…"

"Locrian melodies…" Kumatora cursed. "A'ight, listen up, you punks, we don't have much time and I think Ionia's finally gone nuts with this one."

Alle raised her hand politely. "Um, who's… Ionia?"

"… Phrygia, I forgot none of ya besides Luke, Boney and Dust _know_ the Magypsies." Pause. "Oh, and uh, Ness's crew, I guess."

"FLYING STEAK!" Ness suddenly shrieked, jolting awake. Lucas's hand had been tangled in his hair, unfortunately, which made the blond also lurch in the direction that Ness had moved his head in, which, also unfortunately, happened to be sideways, making Lucas topple over on top of Ness, both boys yelping as Ness was knocked to the ground.

Angie just groaned and collapsed backwards into the grass, staring at the sky. "That's it, I give up. It's obvious that the universe wants these two to do the hanky panky. I am so done."

"…" Kumatora only stared as Lucas immediately scrambled off of Ness, face redder than a tomato as he tried to keep it cool, tugging on his shirt collar nervously, while Ness only rubbed his head, wincing at the pain that smarted every other moment. "Right. Well, anyway, Allie-"

" _Alle._ "

"Right, Alle, sorry. For everyone's benefit, the Magypsies are… my 'moms'." This Kumatora said as smoothly as possible, so as not to raise any sort of doubts within the uninformed of the group – Fuel, Angie, Richie, Alle, and Nichol. Doubtful, Nichol raised a hand, only to have Richie kick him in the shin for it, the glass-eyed boy wincing as he glared at his sister, who only whistled innocently. "Ionia's one of them and she's the one who took care of me the most, since I stayed with her for most of my life."

Kumatora tapped her fist on her open palm. "Now, to business. Lucas, I think I know where the next Needle is, and you gotta get to it first."

"What's a Needle and why does Lucas have to get to it first?" Fuel asked.

Kumatora looked ready to punch someone. Duster, however, intervened, walking up to the fuming pink haired princess while saying, "Okay, maaaaybe Kumatora shouldn't be the only one up front explaining that. Let me do this bit for you guys."

* * *

Minutes later, the whole Tazmily gang was enlightened, and Kumatora looked appeased, Duster breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that nobody was getting punched today.

Maybe.

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Fuel started making gestures with his hands appropriate to what he was saying. "This island is on a huge as heck dragon."

Kumatora nodded. "Yes."

"This dragon is very powerful, and it can basically wreck our shit just by waking up."

"Language, Fuel." Angie reprimanded, leaning against Lucas's tree stump, though she herself looked like she just said it out of habit. It didn't look like she actually cared if Fuel cursed or not again.

Once again, the Osohe castle princess nodded. "Yeah, that's right."

"Okay, so this dragon has seven Needles in it that those Magypsies's ancestors stabbed into it to keep it asleep, kinda like seven giant tranquilizer darts."

"Erm…"

"And only a super special guy can pull these Seven Darts."

"Needles."

"Seven Darts," Fuel reaffirmed, much to Kumatora's annoyance. "Seven Darts that'll respond only to some sorta Peekaboo Power of Love or something."

Richie snorted as Nichol corrected, "You mean PK Love, Fuel. The Seven Needles of the Dragon will respond to the chosen one who has the power to use PK Love, which is an ability that not even the Magypsies possess."

"Y'know, I'm startin' to like this nerd." Kumatora sighed, and then continued, "So yeah, guess you guys got that, at least. Any more questions?"

"Yeah; what does this have to do with us?" Alle asked curiously. "Does… someone here have the power of PK Love?"

Suddenly, Lucas began sweating, Ness, Jeff, Poo, Boney, Duster and Kumatora all swiveling to look at the freckled blond Tazmilian sitting on the tree stump. The Tazmily kids all blinked, and turned to look at him as well, confused as to why exactly all these people were looking at Lucas after Alle had asked who had the power of PK- **_oh._**

"No way…" Angie voiced everyone's thoughts at the moment as she touched Lucas's wrist, almost cautiously. "Luke, _you_ have the power of PK Love?"

Lucas didn't answer, but his uneasy fidgeting was enough of a reply for the Tazmily kids, who looked almost in awe at the idea that their childhood friend possessed the power to shape the world as they knew it, and had the choice of whether or not he would remake it or destroy it. They were reassured by the fact that they knew Lucas had a good heart, so if he pulled the Needles, then the world would be fine.

"… Wait, have any of the Needles been pulled yet?" Richie turned to stare at Kumatora, who nodded gravely. "Oh, so Lucas has already pulled a Needle?"

Lucas mutely shook his head. Nichol looked baffled. "You just said that only the chosen can pull the Needles. Lucas is the chosen boy with PK Love; shouldn't _he_ have been the one who pulled this one Needle you're talking about?"

"Well, to be fair, she _did_ say ' _a_ chosen one', not ' _the_ chosen one'." Alle mused thoughtfully, hands clasped on her lap as she crossed her legs. "Maybe… Lucas isn't the only one with PK Love on the Nowhere Islands?"

Duster nodded. "That's what we're suspecting, anyway. You know how the heart of whoever pulls the Needles is passed on to the Dragon?" At everyone's nods, the thief continued, "The one who pulled the first didn't seem like he _had_ a heart to pass on, according to Ionia. That's why we have to make haste and find the rest of the Needles."

"Okay, quick question: why are you telling all of _us_ this?" Fuel finally exclaimed, gesturing to the Tazmily gang. "And why are those three so well-informed about this?!" He pointed to Ness, Jeff and Poo, who only blinked and glanced at each other, unable to answer.

Angie tugged him down before straightening up herself, adjusting her pigtails before saying, "What Fuel _means_ to say is… we're glad you're sharing this kind of info with us, since Lucas is our friend and we have the right to know what's going on with his life… but, what are we going to do about what you just told us?"

"We don't exactly have any fighting abilities…" Alle mumbled, staring at her pale palms.

Richie shrugged. "Except Fuel, maybe. Swinging that lumber has got to have some sort of effect on your physical strength."

"And maybe Angie. She kicks like a professional kicker…" Richie mumbled, slumping against her brother in a resigned fashion.

Lucas stared at each of his friends in turn. "Guys…"

"Let's face it; even if we wanted to help, what could _we_ do?" Angie turned to face Kumatora, then Duster, then Lucas, and then the trio from a time long gone, the look in her eyes almost rueful. "We're just ordinary kids with no special 'PK whatsits'."

"Well… I'm an ordinary kid too…" Jeff finally spoke up, making everyone turn to him as he pulled out a few Bottle Rockets from his jacket sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head with a hand. "… but I helped save the world once with just my bottle rockets and my lasers."

"Save the _world_?" Now it was Nichol's turn to look very impressed. "You didn't tell me that."

"That's what Ness, Poo, Paula and I did…" The boy from Winters explained bashfully, chuckling while tucking the Bottle Rockets back inside. "My point is… maybe you _can_ contribute something to all of this, even if you don't have PSI like Ness, Poo, Lucas or Kumatora. As long as your will to fight is strong, you can help in a positive way."

Duster reinforced this with a nod of his own, gesturing to the Thief Tools hanging out of his pockets. "I've got a limp, and I can't use that PSI stuff either, but I have my Thief Tools going for me. Boney's a dog, but he helps when he can. Right, Boney?"

The dog barked proudly. "( _You're darn right I do!_ )"

"Yeah, see?" Kumatora faced the kids, looking a little more enthusiastic. "I know it's a really big job to ask of you guys, seein' as that I barely know ya and the only connection we have is Luke over here, but… would some of you be willin' to step in whenever me, Dust or Boney can't?" Beat. "Actually, whenever the three of us and those three punks in the corner can't?"

Poo raised a hand, about to comment on the fact that he wasn't a punk, only to have Ness hold up a hand to silence him. The prince lowered his hand.

Angie and Fuel looked at each other, as did Nichol and Richie. Alle looked very thoughtful as she looked up towards the sky for inspiration, the wind blowing in their hair as they all tried to decide on the right course of action. Minutes passed, however, and soon, the Tazmily gang all came to a decision. Glancing at everyone – and receiving nods in return - , Alle faced Kumatora and smiled brightly, her pale cheeks flushing with color. "We'll help. Anything for Lucas!"

"Yeaaaah!" Fuel reached over to give Lucas a noogie. "Who's the badass savior of the world, huh? It's Lukey! C'mere, Luke, you li'l blond bugger, you!"

"Fuel, stop, that hurtsss-aaahahAHAHAHAHAANGIEEEE!"

Angie's smirk was catlike as she ran her fingers over Lucas's ribcage, tickling him. "I'm not doing anything, Lucas. You must be imagining things."

"I'm no-hoHO-HOHOOOOT-" The poor blond was in tears as Angie began a full on tickle attack, the two of them falling to the ground and laughing as the rest of them watched on in amusement, glad that Lucas was finally acting like a regular kid with them. It had been a long time since they had seen Lucas smile like that, and quite honestly, it was heartwarming, seeing the normally timid and reserved blond living alone with his father and dog on the outskirts of Tazmily smiling as though he was a child again, as if none of his problems had existed in the first place.

Lucas had decided that enough was enough by this point, and had decided to crawl over behind Ness, who paled at Angie's dark glare. The pigtailed girl smiled in mock wickedness as she declared, "If Lucas chooses to have a companion suffer with him… **_then so be it_**." Her fingers wiggled mock threateningly. "Tickle tickle tickle~!"

" _Fuck-_ " Ness tried to escape, he really did, but Angie was surprisingly extremely fast, as if her nonexistent Speed stat had been maxed out. It was Lucas's turn to watch as Ness tried his hardest to leave the torture machine that was Angie's tickling methods, but alas, it was too difficult. In the end, Ness had pulled Lucas back in in his place, only to have Fuel trip over them and pull Nichol down as well, the boy pulling down Richie, who had been clinging to Poo, who had instinctively grabbed on to Jeff, who was unfortunately clinging to no one as they all fell in a messy dogpile in the middle of the forest, laughing at each other.

Kumatora sighed almost wistfully as Duster watched beside her, Boney observing with one eye open as he snoozed by their feet. The thief asked, "Jealous that you can't join the dogpile, Tora?"

"Not really." The princess smiled. "I get to dogpile you and Luke whenever I want. Lucas needs this kinda thing every once in a while… the way he's smiling is so warm, it warms _my_ heart just seeing it."

"So you're agreeing that Ionia's idea to bring them all along was a good one, then?" Duster teased.

Kumatora rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I was wrong, Ionia was right, this was a good idea, yadda yadda. Still…" Her gaze trailed over Ness, Jeff and Poo, who were currently tussling with Fuel and Nichol, the latter trying desperately to escape, reaching out to Alle for help, only to get dragged back in by the bandaged leg. "… Those three, Dust."

"Hm? Ness, Jeff, and Poo? What about them?"

"Remember how that Poo guy figured out I was a princess on the spot?"

"Oh yeah… I remember that. Why?"

"Ionia suspects it might be because we share the same kinda PSI Power, but she's not sure which one yet. She thinks it's one I haven't learned yet."

Duster looked thoughtful. "Is that even possible? To know someone's status as royalty just by getting a feeling for a shared PSI power?"

"Maybe, I dunno how this PSI thing works either." Kumatora let a blue hexagon erupt from her palm before she clenched it. "Ionia said that there's a possibility one of these kids have PSI too, if we're lucky. We just gotta find the right time to make them unlock it."

Duster looked over the Tazmily kids. "The brunette in pigtails seems like one."

"How do you figure?"

"I don't know… she kind of reminds me of a younger you." Duster flashed a knowing smile in the princess of Osohe castle's direction. "Personality wise, of course. And I think 'responsibility' comes with the powers of PSI. She's a natural born leader, from the looks of it."

Kumatora shrugged. "We won't know until the time comes. Oh hey, the sun's coming down. We should get back to town while it's still light out." To the wrestling kids, she called, "Yo, guys, it's sundown, we'd better haul our asses back to Tazmily while we can still see our noses!"

The kids all answered in affirmation, and separated from each other, each one standing a little more closer to the other, having formed a much stronger friendship than before. One by one, however, the Tazmily kids all clapped a hand on Lucas's back, as if reassuring him of his responsibility and of their continued support of him wherever he went.

They all smiled at him, and he smiled back, grateful, as he took Ness's hand in one and shoved the other in his pocket. At his action, Ness blinked and turned a little pink, but at Lucas's bright smile, he couldn't help but grin back and squeeze his hand reassuringly. _We're behind you all the way, Luke. Just keep going._

Together, they all walked back to Tazmily, the sun bathing the Sunshine Forest in one last golden glow before darkness finally settled in, the stars beginning to twinkle brightly as an aurora danced above Snowcap Mountain and across the dark skies.

At the train station, a girl wearing a fancy pink uniform dismounted, her long blonde hair swaying in the night wind as she headed back home.

 **FUEL joined the party! Lv: 15**

 **ANGIE joined the party! Lv: 17**

 **ALLE joined the party! Lv: 14**

 **NICHOL joined the party! Lv: 12**

 **RICHIE joined the party! Lv: 10**

* * *

 **A/N: I haven't studied for exams, I should do that RIGHT NOW.**

 **Anyway, hello yes I'm back, have this update. I've always thought about expanding a little on the personalities of the Tazmily kids, and with the introduction of Nana in a previous chapter, I though, 'why not show the other Tazmily kids and give them a purpose in the story?', so here we are!**

 **For future reference, the "levels" of each very relevant person in the story are:**

 **NESS Lv: 69**

 **JEFF Lv: 70**

 **POO Lv: 67**

 **PAULA Lv: 68**

 **CLAUS Lv: 27**

 **LUCAS Lv: 25**

 **KUMATORA Lv: 28**

 **DUSTER Lv: 31**

 **BONEY Lv: 27**

 **FUEL Lv: 19**

 **ANGIE Lv: 17**

 **ALLE Lv: 14**

 **NICHOL Lv: 12**

 **RICHIE Lv: 10**

 **NANA Lv: 19**

 **Ness and co.'s levels recognize their levels after the Giygas fight, and Lucas, Kumatora, Duster and Boney's levels all reflect their levels at learning certain things [for Lucas and Kumatora].**

 **I (shit)post PK Lovin' stuff sometimes on Tumblr, under my account classycloudcuckoolanderclasso. On both my Tumblr and my dA, lovelymisslalonde, I've posted a picture of Nana in her usual and in her Lapin Angelique uniform, so if you wanna know what her uniform looks like, yay, go check it out!**

 **Anyway, here's to hoping I get back to the fluff soon after exams!**


	10. A Distant Melody

**X: A Distant Melody**

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"What _is_ she doing?"

Major Daisy stumbled forward a little, startled at the question that the Commander had suddenly posed. Actually, scratch that, she was startled by the Commander's sudden appearance behind her, with next to zero premonition that he was even walking towards her in the first place. _But then again,_ the brunette Pigmask Major mused. _It's only natural that he'd be somewhere nearby her. After that last incident at the Chimera Lab, I don't think he'll want to leave her alone around the base anymore._

Daisy had been patrolling the floor, coincidentally, when she had chanced upon Paula sitting by the one large window in the floor, looking as though she was having a rather quaint time being alone, humming to herself as her hair blew in the gentle breeze. Her little Bushie friend was nestled happily in a potted plant in the corner, snoozing, if the moving leaf was anything to base off of. Curious as to what she was doing, Daisy had just decided to pause and ask her personally when Claus had suddenly shown up behind her.

"Did I catch you off guard?" Claus asked cordially, hands at ease behind his back as he stared directly at Major Daisy, the helmet that gave him the title of the Masked Man casting an impressive shadow over half of his face. "You have yet to answer my question, Major."

Major Daisy shook her head. "It's fine, Commander sir. Erm, what… what was the question again?"

"I asked as to what she was doing." Claus told her as patiently as he could, gesturing to Paula, who was sitting by a large window, staring out almost wistfully while still wearing the dress Claus had gotten her, though the jacket had been left in the room in favor of receiving the cold winds that blew through the windows every now and then. The sight of the dress being worn, the fact that his gift was being used rather often by the recipient, well, it sent a strange warm feeling throughout Claus, one that he didn't recognize all that well, but appreciated nonetheless. _Perhaps this is what friends feel whenever they see that their friends like their gifts. It's… a strange, but good feeling._

Major Daisy turned to look, confused, and suddenly, she giggled, which confused the ginger haired commander greatly. "What's so amusing?"

Though Claus couldn't see it, he could feel Daisy's grin behind her mask. "Why, Commander sir, she's singing!" And indeed, she was.

" _Grown-ups have seen so much more than me,_ " Paula's voice was absolutely lovely, the tones that escaped her lips much like a songbird's various melodies as she closed her eyes, letting her own words surround her as she continued to sing. " _So many things that I still want to see…_ " The smile on her face was so serene, so peaceful, that Claus suddenly felt that strange feeling in the bottom of his stomach again as he leaned against the wall, just listening. Major Daisy quietly snuck off in the meantime. " _So I… took my backpack into the world… and filled it with memories…_ "

 ** _Hey, C**us!_**

Paula's singing seemed to have triggered something in Claus's mind, and he closed his own eyes, letting himself get lost in the voices in his head.

" _My fav'rite baseball cap on my head,_ "

 ** _C**us… I'm sorry about what I did this morning… but you were being a bully…_**

" _My worn out sneakers, a faded white and red,_ "

 ** _… I-I'm s-s-sorryyy… *sob* C-C-C-**us… don't be m-maaaad… *bawl*_**

" _My lucky guitar pick shiny and clear,_ "

 ** _… O-oh… so… you forgive me…? You're… the best brother ever… *sob*_**

" _Safe in my pocket, right here._ "

 _Even until now, I still don't know who the people talking are…_ Claus's brow was furrowed as he crossed his arms, adjusting his position so that the way he leaned against the cold wall of the Pigmask base was a little less awkward and a little less hazardous to what was left of his spinal cord. _… Curious how most of these voices seem to be triggered by Paula, or some event related to her._

Paula's eyes didn't open, but she let herself trace the PK No Bracelet once again, her thoughts floating over to the ginger haired commander of the Pigmask army as she did so. Each breath she took was a little stuttered, as if she was breathless at the thought of him, and she leaned forward a little, away from the curve of the round window whose sill she had been sitting on. Somehow, the thought of him sent a rather lovely warm feeling through her, almost as if drinking a nice cup of hot chocolate in the middle of a cold Christmas, sitting by the fire with friends and family, bundled up in blankets. Her lips curled up in a smile as she continued her song, now with two people on her mind.

" _Though sometimes I got sad and almost cried, you were always with me, by my side…"_ The fingers fiddling with the PK No Bracelet traced the silver accessory almost fondly, feeling the smooth metal against warm fingertips. " _I knew that we were friends to the core… but maybe it was something more…_ "

 _Something… more…_ Paula's eyes fluttered open a little as she remembered Ness, a rather sad smile crossing her face at the thought of her favorite cap wearing baseball bat wielding PSI user from Onett. _Ness... I wonder how you're doing back in Onett… do you know that I'm here…?_ Lips pursed as she sighed. _It's strange… but I don't know if what I'm feeling now… is what I used to feel before. It's all so confusing… being here, being in this place, with no one but Doctor Andonuts to recognize my detachment from this place… and… him. Claus… that's not his name but it feels like it is…_ The blonde leaned back against the window again, the metal of her hoop skirt brushing against the sill and making a small 'boing'ing noise. _It's funny… I wish I could tell you myself, Ness… but he kind of reminds me of you a little… both of you are so reckless, so… willing to throw yourselves into danger for what's important to you…_

Paula let her eyes close fully as she sighed again. _I wonder… is there something-_

The sound of metal clanking against the floor cut her thought short as she let her eyes open once more, glancing to the side and squeaking in both embarrassment and alarm the moment she realized that Claus had been standing there, listening to every single word that had danced its way out of her mouth. The metallic sound had been Claus accidentally dropping his cannon, much to his consternation, as he picked it up hastily, the little Paula could see of his face a luminescent pink.

 _Heehee… that's so cute._ Paula giggled to herself before the thought suddenly occurred to her. _Did I… just call him…_ _ **cute**_ _?_

"How… long have you been standing there, Claus?" Paula dismissed the previous thought almost immediately, pushing it to the back of her brain as she fixed herself, turning so that she was simply sitting on the windowsill now, but facing the jacketed Commander, her hands on either side of her as she patiently awaited his answer, Colo the Bushie turning over in his sleep.

Claus strained to push himself upright once more, trying his best to regain his composure. "I do believe… I was here the moment you started this 'singing' that a Pigmask Major kindly explained to me." He tilted his head to the side a little. "Why were you 'singing'?"

"Why was I singing…?" The thought that Claus had been here the moment she had started singing turned the tips of Paula's ears a bright red as she tugged at her dress's collar nervously, feeling rather embarrassed that he had heard her. At his question, however, she tried her best to reply. "Well… um, sometimes you sing depending on how you're feeling."

Claus raised an eyebrow. "Depending on how you're feeling?"

"Yes. Sometimes you sing when you're sad or lonely… and sometimes you sing whenever you're happy." Paula scooched over, patting the space next to her as she turned to face the outside world, taking in the clear blue skies that hung over the Nowhere Islands. Taking her invitation, the Commander walked closer, stepping on the sill and eventually sitting down, his legs dangling out of the window as Paula continued, "Singing is kind of like talking, but… it's a lot more special."

"How so?"

"Well…" Paula thought for a bit. "Ah! Give me a sentence, Claus."

Claus raised an eyebrow once again, but didn't question it. "I am the Commander of the Pigmask army."

"That's kind of plain, but I suppose it'll do." Paula fixed herself so that she was facing Claus sideways. "Okay, now, when we talk, it's like 'I am the Commander of the Pigmask army', right?" At Claus's curt nod, she continued. "But when it's singing, you get to put a whole lot more emotion into it by making certain… erm, intonations in certain syllables. We're taking words and putting them into a melody. Do you get this?"

"Not particularly."

At his blunt answer, she groaned. "Well, okay, maybe a demonstration would be better. Listen closely. This is me talking. 'I am the Commander of the Pigmask army'. Got that?" At the lack of reply, she elbowed him. "Answer when I'm asking you something, you silly chimera!"

"I understood what you said." Claus begrudgingly replied, batting away her elbow. "And stop doing that. It's annoying and mildly painful."

The Twoson girl rolled her eyes. "Okay… now pay attention. This time, I'm going to sing what I just said. A-hem: _I… am the Commander of the Pig… mask… army…_ "

"That sounds ridiculous." Claus told her promptly.

Paula stuck her tongue out at him. "That's because you gave me such a boring old sentence, you dummy! Give me something more interesting or try it yourself if you want it to sound 'less ridiculous'!"

"Try it myself, huh…?" Claus looked out towards the horizon. New Pork City was visible from where they were sitting, the hulking shadow of the Empire Porky Building looming over the whole area menacingly. Claus tried out a few moments of harmonizing, copying what Paula had been doing before she had begun singing. " _Aaah… aaah…_ "

Paula smiled. "That's it, you're harmonizing! Now, try 'actually singing'."

"…" Claus gave Paula a dry look, as if to say 'I'm _trying_ ', before staring at his hands, letting himself try and imagine the feeling of 'singing'. He was unsure, very unsure, seeing as this was practically foreign territory. He couldn't understand, firstly, how Paula managed to make a simple fluctuation in tone sound so… well, _pleasing_ to the ear. Claus had heard singing before, certainly, but not singing done by a human: a songbird chimera had been brought in before from the chimera laboratory, singing in a series of whirring chirps, almost like a clockwork doll, before falling over and dying. It wasn't a pretty sight, but the singing _was_ rather lovely.

 _Just like Paula…_

… _'s voice. I mean voice._ Claus pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance with himself, much to Paula's utter confusion. _I'll be damned if I let these thoughts suddenly take over my everyday life... surely this must be the not yet unlocked power that Paula must have, affecting me so often._ His hand fell back to his lap, and he lifted one leg up so that he could rest his arm on it, the other arm stretched out a little behind him, grasping the edge of the windowsill as he stared out, lost in thought.

Just then, the melodious soprano from weeks ago returned to his mind, and he let the voice bathe him in soothing calmness, bringing with it a familiar tune – one whose words that Claus seemed to remember.

 ** _Shine on one dear child, one so very small…_**

" _One who carries on alone, strong after all…"_

"Hey, you're doing it!" Paula exclaimed, surprised and glad that he was beginning to get it. "That's not a song I'm familiar with though… it sounds lovely, Claus."

"… It's…" Claus shifted so that his legs were dangling out of the window again. "… This melody… I'm sure it's longer than that… but that's all I can remember of it. It's strange."

The blonde studied him, lips pursed. "… You know, for someone who hasn't sung at all before, you sing rather well, Claus. Your voice is really good… I like it. It's got this rumbling quality to it that makes me feel… well, all warm inside, you know?"

"No, I don't know, seeing as that I'm not you and I can't be you."

"Oh, is that how we're going to be now? I didn't think you were capable of this much _sass_ , Commander." Paula teased, poking a finger at Claus's chest. "It almost seems like you're a normal teenager not commanding an army of pig mask wearing people, I'm surprised!"

Claus threw a smirk in her direction, one that made her melt a little. "I blame you for this. I could personally have you executed for this kind of insubordination, you know."

"You won't execute me."

"What makes you so sure I won't, Lady Polestar?"

"Because I'm your friend." Paula told him decisively, grinning cattily at him. "And you gave me this dress, and because I care about you and you care about me."

Claus raised a finger, ready to retaliate, when he realized that everything that his charge had just said was absolutely correct, and he put it down, a look crossing his face that Paula could only describe as a pout, or something along those lines. "There is no discrepancy in what you just said."

"Hah, told you so." Paula giggled before crossing her legs, supporting herself with her two hands as she and Claus both turned to stare at the trees that spread out for miles and miles. The two were quiet, silently enjoying each other's company as they turned their gazes down to the ground, where Pigmasks walked around to and fro, doing their various assigned tasks. A Major looked up, and, upon seeing the two, waved in a friendly fashion, Paula waving back, only to giggle as a smaller Pigmask – a regular one – walked up to the Major, oinking something. Once that was over, the Pigmask looked up at Paula and hesitantly waved before hiding behind the Pigmask Major's back, only to oink rather loudly in delight (you _know_ it's loud when even Paula winces a little at the volume) when Paula waved back, also in a friendly fashion. It was like watching a child rejoicing at having their idol talk to them, and it made Paula chuckle and Claus smile just a little.

"You know something, Claus?"

His mismatched eyes glanced at her sideways. "Yes?"

"I never really expected… that we'd end up becoming friends, you know?" The blonde stopped crossing her legs to dangle them over the ledge, tilting her head to the side as she felt Colo hop up and on the window sill, his leaf tickling her arm as he settled down near her right hand.

The Commander glanced at her. "You… don't like being friends?"

"No, no, of course I do! Being friends with you is great!" Paula faced him, patting his arm in reassurance to reinforce her words. "It's just… well, you're different now than when I first met you."

"Explain."

"Well… for one, you put up with me." The girl raised a hand and began ticking off fingers with the other. "You smile more often too… at least, I think so, anyway, and you're actually showing more emotions beside 'I am the Commander, fear me, blah blah' and 'I hate everyone'."

"I do not hate everyone."

"Nobody hates everyone, you silly." Paula smiled before continuing, "My point is… well, I'm just really happy we got to be friends in the end, and that I got to see you… well, got to see you slowly change, you know?" Paula leaned against the side of the window again. "… Poo was like that too when we first met him."

Claus raised an eyebrow; this was new information, information that he had yet to glean from her until now. "Who?"

"Another friend of mine… he was rather uptight, being the prince of a kingdom, just like you, when you told me you were the Commander." _So Paula is friends with royalty? How peculiar, but not unexpected; she is charming. Perhaps she'll get along with the King…?_ "But he was also a teenage boy just like you and me years ago, and in the end, he showed that by joining in in our fun and games and our pillow fights in the hotels and… wow…"

"Wow, what?"

"Wow, I actually… it just hit me right now that I…" Paula's voice hitched, which made Claus freeze in alarm. "… that I… really miss them, oh gods…" There it was, one of the few things Claus didn't know what to do about: crying. The tears were cascading down the Twoson native's cheeks as her body began to be wracked in strangled, hiccupping sobs, though these were punctuated with a few harsh laughs here and there. "Haha… I… wow… how long has it been, even…? Months…? Weeks, yes… haha, I can't believe it just hit me… n-now of… all the times I-I could…"

On the outside, Claus was composed. On the inside, the Commander was having a stressed fit, unable to determine how to make her feel better. _She's cried before, she's cried many times – most in her sleep – but that doesn't mean I know how to act accordingly!_ The ginger looked like he wanted to tear his hair out in frustration as he faced Paula, trying to see what he could do, to no avail. _Pork damn it, I am the Commander of the Pigmask army, and I should not have to deal with things like this!_ Pause. _… But I'm also her friend now, so I should be able to do something to make her function at a higher percentage than usual._

 _… But what?_

"Erm…" Claus cleared his throat, trying to gather the words to say as Paula continued to hiccup, sapphire blue eyes glistening with tears. The sight made Claus falter a little, but as she tried her best to look at him, trying not to let the tears fall, the ginger felt his resolve strengthen, and he coughed loudly to clear his throat once again. Once he had Paula's attention, however, he was silenced, unable to say anything substantial.

 _Think, think!_ He quietly urged himself. _You're looking like a buffoon not speaking to her, think of something!_

Paula was quiet, but her eyebrow was raised, observing the internal conflict that Claus was currently having, which was being mirrored on his face. Moments later, however, he sighed, and scooted over a little closer to her, an arm snaking around her and holding her close. Paula didn't have time to react before Claus eventually let his other arm wrap around her as well in an awkward-looking hug, his head resting on hers, though it was a little awkward, given the fact that he still had his helmet on. This surprising action had made the girl's cheeks flush a bright cherry red, and she stiffened a little, unsure of how to react. The tears had long since stopped due to the surprise.

"What… are you trying to… _do_ , Claus?" Paula asked semi-skeptically. She did not move away, however.

Claus mumbled something into his jacket's fur trimming that Paula didn't quite catch.

"I'm sorry… what?"

"… I am attempting to restore you to a hundred percent functionality."

"By… hugging me?"

Claus glanced at what he doing, and then back at Paula. "… If that is what this is called, then yes, I am 'hugging' you to restore your functionality."

"… You think that hugging me will make me happy?" There it was again; the telltale glistening of her eyes which meant that tears were about to fall. However, this time, she appeared to be… smiling? "… You're such a dork."

Claus had no idea what a dork was, nor what Paula meant by it, but he took it to be a good thing, because she appeared to be smiling as she reached up to wipe away a few tears with the back of her hand, sniffling a little, but happy. After wiping away her tears, she moved to give him a hug of her own, but not before tapping his helmet a little. "You know, we'd be able to hug better if you took this off."

"…" Claus blinked at the suggestion. "No. This is perfectly fine. I do not see the need to remove my helmet unless absolutely necessary."

"… Are you sure you're not just keeping it on because you don't want me to see your face?"

"Why would I do that?"

Paula's eyes narrowed in mock suspicion, but she shrugged, instead choosing to release Claus from her embrace and lean against him instead, her head resting on his shoulder. "That's not exactly helping in convince me, you know. Why don't you take off your mask, Claus?"

"It is imperative that I keep it on at all times whenever I am technically on duty." Why did she let go? Did she not like hugging him? As petulant-sounding as it was, Claus was a little disappointed that Paula had ceased hugging him, though he wasn't quite sure as to _why_ he was feeling this way, only that he knew that her embrace was rather nice and warm. Still, he continued to have his arms wrapped around her as he continued, "There are many functions in this helmet that enhance my capabilities as the Commander."

"Oh?" This was new. "Do tell. I don't think you've ever told me what your helmet can do."

Even though he was positive she couldn't see it, he gave her a semi-affectionate smile. "My helmet is an extension of my own internal database; I can analyze someone's weaknesses and general makeup given a certain amount of time looking at them, and that information is stored within my helmet for future use. It can also be used to identify heat signatures to check for the living or the dead." Pause. "Doctor Andonuts says that it is also mostly used to obscure my identity."

"Why?"

"I am… not quite certain myself." He shifted so that Paula's position was a little less awkward, adjusting until they were both comfortably leaning against each other, his arms still wrapped around her. "But it has not failed in either function so far, so he deems it a successful invention."

Paula made a little 'hmm'ing sound, musing, "Having a helmet like yours would be pretty cool, now that I think about it. It sounds like a pretty interesting thing to have."

"…" Claus considered her thoughtfully. "Perhaps you could have Doctor Andonuts make one for you. I do believe he won't mind if it is beneficial to the Pigmask army." _Or to you, seeing as that you seem to know each other._

The blonde looked up at him, curiosity sparked. "Do you really think he'd make one for me? I mean, I'm not a part of the Pigmask army… wouldn't materials be wasted on me?"

"… You're not a waste of materials, Paula." The Commander intoned seriously, unintentionally wrapping his arms just a little tighter around her. She noticed this, but didn't say anything, still reflecting on his words, a little touched. "You can say that it was on my orders that you procure a helmet of similar function to mine… except a few modifications, of course." He loosened his hug a little to tap the half visor of the helmet covering his one red eye. "You don't have cybernetic enhancements, so the 'extension of self' functions could probably be removed."

Paula mumbled incoherently to herself, thinking. Finally, she stated, "Well… if you're sure. Thank you, Claus." A few heartbeats passed before she mumbled, "Um… Claus?"

"Yes?"

Paula considered telling him about the PSI power the PK No Bracelet didn't manage to hold back. After a few moments, however, she shook her head. "… Never mind."

Claus raised an eyebrow, but didn't question her, instead choosing to close his eyes just for a moment, letting his embrace tighten around nothingness-

His eyes shot open.

" ** _CLAUS!_** "

Claus cursed loudly as his wings immediately spread out behind him, his body automatically falling straight down to the ground, almost as though he was an arrow, his arms reaching out desperately…

"Oof!"

There she was.

Claus didn't know why or how, but somehow, Paula had fallen off the window sill and out of his embrace, screaming. Colo had chittered in panic the moment Claus had skydived down from the window sill, the sounds of his roommate screaming sending the Pigmasks on the ground floor into a riotous orchestra of panicked oinking. At almost the last moment, Claus had caught the blonde in his arms and with a flap of his wings – the hole was _still_ there, when would Doctor Andonuts _fix_ it? - , he managed to slow their descent, landing softly on the ground with a small thump.

"Commander, sir!" A Pigmask Colonel oinked, saluting him as they approached them. "What happened?"

Claus held a trembling Paula close to his chest as he barked out some orders at the Colonel and the other approaching Pigmasks. "I want a railing on all windows similar to the one we were sitting on, stat!" His grip tightened. "I will _not_ have any other casualties, Pigmask or not, from such windows. Do you understand?!"

"SIR YES SIR!" The Pigmasks chorused, immediately marching away, presumably to carry out the new order.

A sapphire blue eye cautiously opened. "… C…"

"It's alright. I got you." Claus let his wings fold back into his back as he gently let Paula stand back up on her own, supporting her as she wobbled a little, trying to regain her balance. Once she was on her own two feet again, he straightened out, his face growing serious. "What happened there? How did you slip?"

The blonde looked lost. "… I… don't really know… one minute, you're hugging me, and the next…" A shudder rippled through her body. "… I think I might be developing a fear of heights."

"So you didn't have it before?"

It was an honest question, really, but Paula had socked him in the arm for it. Not that it did anything to him; it felt more like a pillow hitting his arm more than anything, given his resistance.

"…" Claus gave her a stare. "What… was that for, exactly?"

"Don't ask about someone's fears just like that, Claus, that's considered rude." Despite her words, Paula's hands found their way to his arm, and she clung to it precariously, still a little shaky. "Erm… could we go back to our room, now? I think I'm going to need a long sleep after this."

The heterochromic eyed commander nodded. "I'll bring you back and talk to Doctor Andonuts about your own helmet while you do so. Will that be alright?"

"Yes… thank you."

* * *

 **A/N: Aiyaahhh, school hurts me.**

 **But anyway, I'm going to be responding to a few reviews this time around! Please remember that you can always ask me questions in your reviews about the story or whatever!**

 **Guest: I do believe I have a thing for giving personalities to characters with barely any in their own respective games, haha!**

 **TheSpookster: Thanks! The exam results aren't out yet but I hope I did well! I tried to give them all a defining character trait; hopefully it worked! I don't personally have an overall favorite myself, since I like all of them like my own babies, heehee! As for my favorite chimera... would it be strange if I said it was a Whatever? Y'know, those cute little things that follow you around in Thunder Tower? They're adorable!**

 **PK-Love-Alpha: Oh my goodness, you ship Poo and Kumatora because of me? / goodness i didn't think that scene would do anything oh dear hahaha well anyway, I'm not guaranteeing any Poomatora because those aren't necessarily PK Lovin's endgame pairings like Nesscas and Claula ;w; however because I like shipping there's bound to be at least a few more moments in the future if I forget the endgame pairings HAHA. . ..**

 **Shimo no ko: You're welcome! I actually saw Memorii Makiko's video a few weeks after I drew my first Claula fanart, and I _screamed_ when I saw Claula implied in the video! It was such a welcome surprise I honestly rolled around on my bed... heehee**

 **Everyone else who reviewed before but I didn't get to acknowledge: Thank you so much for your nice reviews! all aboard the claula ship**


	11. Reminisce

**XI: Reminisce**

.

.

.

.

Lucas may not have seen how it had happened, but Flint had.

He had watched his now only son grow up these past few years, but not as often as he had claimed he would. From a helpless crybaby to the determined and brave young man he currently was, Lucas had grown into a son Flint was very proud of. And, he was sure, Hinawa would have been proud of him too, had she been alive.

Watching his son from the sidelines was easy, seeing as that he was rather preoccupied with the strangers that had soon moved in with them for the time being. Lucas didn't forget that Flint existed, no, but most of his attention had been focused on the Ness boy and his two other companions, the Andonuts boy and the prince, so much that Flint could watch from the sidelines and make his observations without Lucas holding back on any of his actions.

Ever since Claus's disappearance, Flint had never lost the hope that he was still alive and just barely surviving somewhere in the wilderness, so every day, he went to the Drago's Plateau to search, oft leaving his blond son to his own devices. This, he supposed, must have led him to seek companionship, or at least some form of elder role model, in the sprightly Kumatora and the laid back Duster. He had seen how the two had acted as parents in his and Hinawa's stead – and while Kumatora wasn't exactly the calm and gentle Hinawa and Duster wasn't the cool and collected Flint, they had served as his friends and his mentors, being there for him when Flint (and, by extension, Alec) hadn't.

As Flint tended to the sheep quietly, Boney circling them so that they wouldn't scatter, the man's gaze traveled over to his son, who was currently playing an odd form of Tag with the newcomers and two of the Tazmily kids, Richie and Alle. Yet again, Flint saw a bright smile gracing his son's face as he continued to have his fun, and instinctively, he smiled at the sight.

"( _You look melancholic.)_ " Boney told him, even though he knew the man couldn't understand him the way the others possessing PSI could. With a low rumbling sound, the dog looked up at Flint, who only sighed at the sight of Lucas and Ness chasing each other, laughing.

Although Flint didn't know what he said, he could feel that it was the dog's form of a side comment, and he chuckled, pausing in his work to observe the teenagers. Currently, Alle and Poo had stopped playing to have a small braiding session on the side, while Jeff, Richie, Ness and Lucas were still playing, Jeff tripping over a rock and landing on Lucas, who yelped at the contact. At the sight, Ness broke out into guffaws, while Richie giggled hysterically, both freckled blonds giving the two others dirty looks at their amusement.

" _(Hey… are you okay?)_ " Boney nudged Flint's leg in worry, whimpering.

The man tipped his hat, kneeling down to ruffle the fur atop Boney's head affectionately. "Worried about me, Boney?"

" _(Of course!_ )"

"Hah… that's precious." Flint observed the group once more, watching as Richie's buns came undone and a thick mess of hair tumbled down, the brunette throwing a slight tantrum as the boys – minus Poo – all tried to calm her down, Alle and Poo just sighing as the white haired girl continued to deftly braid the prince's hair with nimble fingers. "Boney."

" _(Yes?)_ "

"… I've been a bad father, haven't I?" Seeing the sheep all return to the repaired pen, Flint leaned on the fence a little, watching as Ness clumsily tried to tie Richie's buns back, only to have Lucas shake his head and chuckle before taking his place, having done it so many times before. At the dog's confused look – at least, it _looked_ like Boney was confused to him - , the man laughed harshly. "Spending all this time looking for the son I lost… when I should have paid attention to the son I still had."

" _(Well, you're not wrong…)_ " Boney barked, sitting. " _(But you think that Claus is still alive, right? You probably shouldn't lose hope.)_ "

"Claus… I just have this feeling that he isn't dead, you know?" Flint gave a weary sigh as he continued to lean against the fence, arms crossed and hat tilted in such a way that his face was shadowed. "Call it a father's intuition, if you will, but… I just… I couldn't give up. For Claus… for Lucas… and for Hinawa."

Boney gave him a sad look as the man continued, "I'm glad that Lucas has found friends in Kumatora and Duster, and in these kids. Really, I am." His forest green eyes stared, unseeing, at nowhere in particular. "They're doing a better job of making Lucas a better person than I ever could." He bit his lip. "I… missed out on my own son growing up, Boney. I missed out on both sons growing up. I'm a terrible father."

" _(…)_ " Boney could only whimper, rubbing his head against Flint's leg in some form of reassurance.

Flint watched as the four finally ceased in their game, Lucas and Ness moving towards the cliff to sit and chat while Jeff and Richie headed into town, presumably to visit Nichol during work hours. At the sight of his son and the strange violet eyed boy conversing so peacefully at the peak, the man felt his grip on his own arms tighten as he crossed his arms a little more. "Lucas… he's not a boy anymore, is he, Boney? He's grown up to become a thoughtful and caring young man…" Beat. "… I'm… I'm glad. Kumatora and Duster have helped him become a happier person."

" _(That's great and all, but maybe you should get involved in Lucas's life more.)_ " Boney suggested, staring up at Flint, panting. " _(Perhaps… get to know Ness while you're at it? Lucas seems to like him a lot!)_ "

Flint didn't understand anything, but he ruffled Boney's head fur affectionately. "I can't understand you Boney, you know this. Thank you for listening to me, though."

" _(Anytime!)_ "

"… Still…" Flint narrowed his eyes as Ness made funny faces at Lucas. Lucas, whose back was turned to Flint, had his whole body shaking, which meant he was either coughing or laughing really hard. "I'm not so estranged from my own son that I don't notice when someone is deliberately making advances on him."

" _(More like it's Lucas who's flirting with him!)_ " Boney barked humorously in Ness's defense, but Flint didn't seem to pick up on his tone of barking, instead heading towards the house, telling the dog, "Tell them that lunch will be ready in an hour, Boney." Pause. "Wait, what am I saying, you're a dog. Still, Lucas seems to understand you, so tell him anyway."

" _(Will do!)_ " Boney barked in affirmation.

* * *

Ness wasn't particularly sure, but he was at least fifty percent certain that Lucas's father was staring at him from across the table.

At the moment, it was him, Lucas, Jeff and Flint at the table, Poo currently at Alle's house since the latter's parents had invited him over for lunch – and the prince had been taught never to refuse a lunch invitation from those older than him -, and quite frankly, it was unnerving him. Flint had prepared some baked yams and omelets for them – the lack of steak, quite frankly, made Ness a little gloomy, but he tried his best to be on his best behavior - , and currently, Lucas was happily digging into the meal. Jeff was quietly enjoying the yams, while Ness tried his best to enjoy the sweet taste of the omelets, repeating ' _Pretend Tracy made it, pretend Tracy made it,'_ in his brain as he ate it. It certainly helped.

However, the whole time, he felt Flint's gaze burning into his cap. It made him sweat profusely.

The moment Jeff finished, he excused himself from the table, arranging his plate while telling them that he would be at Nichol and Richie's house before heading on out, some of his Bottle Rockets bulging out of his pockets. The moment Jeff left however, Ness became even more certain that Flint was staring him down. Lucas seemed oblivious to this as he continued to enjoy his omelet, quietly humming to himself.

"So… Lucas."

Ness unintentionally dropped his fork in his nervousness. He wasn't quite sure as to _why_ he was nervous, but Flint _was_ rather intimidating.

Lucas looked up. "Yes, Dad?"

"These kids have been staying with us for a while now, but you've never properly introduced me to all of them." Flint was direct-to-the-point, a trait that Ness recognized in his own mother, but unlike his mother, he sounded more authoritative, something that made him want to straighten himself out.

The blond blinked. "I… haven't? It must've slipped my mind, sorry Dad…"

"It's alright, son." For a moment, Flint had taken on an affectionate tone, casting a fatherly glance in Lucas's direction. However, that immediately disappeared, being replaced by him focusing on the capped boy from Onett, who was ready to sweat bullets. "Since the other two aren't here… perhaps you could introduce me to him?"

"Oh, this is Ness, dad. Ness, this is my dad, you already know him." Lucas smiled gently, something that seemed to soothe Ness's nerves as he straightened up a little. "I already told you about how I found him, Jeff and Poo in the forest with broken bones, right?"

At Flint's nod, Lucas continued. "Um… he can also use PSI like me, and he's been really nice to me the whole time he's been here."

"I could see that," Flint commented. To Lucas, it sounded like a reaffirmation of his statement. To Ness, it sounded something along the lines of a death threat. "You have any siblings at home, Ness?"

Ness, startled, backed up in his chair, almost falling over as he yelped, trying to steady himself. Flint raised an eyebrow at this as Lucas immediately reached over, grabbing his hand to steady the boy, preventing him from falling. As he pulled Ness back into stability, Lucas chided, "You should be more careful, Ness! You almost flipped the table!"

"Sorry…" Ness mumbled, cheeks flushing a nice shade of red as he tried to meet Flint's eyes, though that was difficult with his hat on. Why didn't he take it off? "Yes, sir, I have a little sister. Though I guess you could count her best friend as a little brother of sorts, as well."

"How come?"

"His parents… are kinda… neglectful." That seemed to strike a chord in Flint, judging from the minute change of expression. _Bad move, you savior of the world, you._ "He hangs a lot with my little sister and looks up to me. His older brother's missing." _Missing and probably invading other planets? Or timelines?_

Lucas gave Ness a smile. "That's really nice of your family, Ness."

"It's the least I could do for Picky," Ness admitted. "He's practically the only sane man in his own house, even without his father and brother there anymore. Well, unless you count the new stepdad he's getting."

"Stepdad?"

"His mom's remarrying."

" _Remarrying?_ " Both father and son stared at Ness in disbelief, as though the idea of remarrying someone was either taboo or absolutely unheard of.

Ness did _not_ like the look on their faces. "Erm, yeaaahhh…?"

"Well, that's… certainly a strange idea." Lucas fidgeted in his seat, rubbing his arm as he pushed away his plate. "And it looks like I finished lunch, dad! I'll wash the dishes while you and Ness get to know each other better!"

"Wait, Luke-"But the blond had already gone with the dirty plates and silverware.

That left Flint and Ness at the table, separated only by the lace tablecloth and the vase of sunflowers serving as a centerpiece.

"…" Ness perspired, trying not to show that he was nervous. With a swallow and a nervous chuckle, Ness opened conversation. "So… nice weather today, huh?"

"What are your intentions toward my son, young man?"

"W-w-wha?"

Flint leaned forward on the table, forest green eyes serious. "You're sweating. Don't be nervous; I only want to ask if you intend to pursue anything with my son."

"I-I don't-"

"Are you interested in Lucas?" **_WELL. Well then._**

Ness had heard this conversation before; Paula's father had asked him the exact same question… though instead of 'son' and 'Lucas' it had been 'adorable darling daughter' and 'my precious sweetheart Paula'. The Polestars were rather colorful in comparison to the cool and collected Flint. Still, he didn't seem to get why Flint was asking _him_ of all people _this_ of all questions. "E-erm… well…"

"Don't be scared." Flint leaned back again, making Ness breathe a sigh of relief. At the boy's nervousness, Flint couldn't help but chuckle, remembering his own uneasiness when he had first met Hinawa. "I simply want to catch up with my son and the new friends he's been making. In addition, you _are_ living under my roof, so I have a right to know who is staying. I… take it you've already been informed of what I do whenever I'm not around?"

At Ness's unwavering but tense stare, Flint sighed. "I supposed as much."

"Flint, sir-"

"Flint. Just call me Flint."

"Flint…" Ness _still_ felt rather iffy about it, but if Lucas's father – _Flint_ – had requested it himself, then... "I… uh, I guess it's not really my place to ask, but… why look for someone who's probably long dead by now?"

Flint's fist clenched. Not a good sign. "Claus is not dead. I can feel it."

"Wouldn't Lucas feel it first?" Ness pressed, despite his nervousness. "I mean, they _are_ twins, right? Twin telepathy and all that?" As if for emphasis, Ness made a few gestures with his fingers.

The man tipped his hat, though mostly to cast a shadow on his face. "Call it a father's intuition if you will, but I know my son is still alive somewhere. I don't know where, or if he's surviving, but if it's been this many years, then he's certainly found someplace to stay and survive, and is simply gathering his strength before returning."

"That's crazy talk!" Ness could feel his nervousness slowly melting away as he conversed with his friend's father, gaining a little more momentum as he continued to speak, standing up and slamming his palms on the table. "It's been years! Years of you, looking for a son that's probably long gone by now! I don't know the whole story and I probably never will, but it doesn't matter!" Ness stared straight into Flint's eyes this time, unwavering. "All these years, searching for a son who you believe to be still alive but simply missing from here? While you were off looking for 'Claus', you ended up neglecting the one son that's still with you!"

"…" Flint couldn't rebut. He couldn't find any form of rebuttal for Ness's statements.

The Onett native gripped the table cloth. "It's been years, right?! Lucas told me as much! All you've done is tend to the sheep, look for Claus, leave Lucas at some other person's house, come back for lunch, and look for Claus again! What kind of dad are you, neglecting the child you still have?!"

"…" Flint met Ness's gaze calmly, but didn't reply. However, there was an obvious stiffness to his body that meant that Ness's words had struck him. Hard.

Ness breathed in, and sat back down. "Look, Flint, sir… I'm… I'm sorry-"

"No, you're right." Ness blinked at this. Flint took off his hat – _well, no wonder he didn't take off his hat often! He's as bald as a bean!_ Ness marveled – and hung it on the back of his chair, sighing. "I've been a horrible father to Lucas these past few years. Leaving him in the care of others while I look for his brother… Hinawa would have had a Drago trample me for my idiocy."

The raven haired boy gave him an empathetic look. "Lucas's mom?"

"Yes." Flint took a sip from his glass of water. "Hinawa was the calm during the emotional hurricane that was me and the hyperactive tsunamis that were the boys. Even if the whole world would be against her, I'm certain… that all she would do is smile and laugh through it. It's in her nature." From his seat across him, Ness could see the wistful look in the man's eyes as he continued to reminisce. "Everyone loved her... so when she died, everyone was miserable. It was like a light had gone out in everyone's lives."

* * *

 ** _Wife of Flint._**

 ** _Mother of the twins Claus and Lucas._**

 ** _Daughter of Alec._**

 ** _May the beautiful Hinawa rest in peace here for all time._**

* * *

Flint gave Ness a stare. Unlike the ones he had previously given him, however, it looked like it was searching for something more than anything. "Hinawa did everything for the sake of the twins. It was because of that… that Lucas, and possibly Claus, is alive today. A parent will do whatever is best for their children…" Another sip from the glass. "… No matter what it takes. Do you understand, Ness?"

"That's what my mother said, too." He wasn't wrong; when Tracy had almost gotten run over by a car, their mother had somehow managed to push her out of the way while narrowly missing the car itself, only getting a sprained ankle in response. When a sobbing Ness had asked why she had done that, she had told him the exact same words Flint had told Ness with a smile on her face. "But… why are you… telling me all this, Flint, sir?"

"I thought you were an untrustworthy person at first." Flint stood up. "But you have proven me wrong." He gave the boy an almost fatherly smile. "I think… I understand why Lucas seems to like you so much."

"It's great to know that you like me too, Flint sir!" Ness said cheerfully.

Flint replied coolly, "Oh, I didn't say that I liked you."

Ness's blood ran cold at his statement.

"… Just kidding." The man chuckled heartily before bidding the Onett native a farewell. "I'll be borrowing my son for a while, if that's alright with you?"

One of Ness's eyebrows rose at his statement. "Er, sure, Flint sir, but… why are you asking permission from me? He's your son."

"I assumed that the two of you had plans later, so I played it safe." Flint put his hat back on, tipping it in a friendly fashion at Ness. "I'll be off, then. Tell Lucas that I'm waiting for him by the Save Frog."

"Okay, Flint sir!"

 ** _Click!_** The door closed behind him.

Ness paused.

"... Wait, what did he mean by 'plans later'?" The boy fixed his cap, huffing at the stray lock of hair that fell in front of his face. "What does he think we'll be doing, going on a date?"

* * *

 **A/N: I don't know where I was going with this, but yay, motivation to update! It's amazing how listening to 'Memory' from the Undertale OST on repeat can motivate you to write these sorts of chapters/stories. The part where Ness and Flint were talking had ASGORE playing in the background instead while I was writing it, hahaha.**

 **The Second Needle chapter should either be the next one or the chapter after the next one. Hooray, Samba and Salsa! Hooray, Doria! HOORAY TAZMILY KIDS! Can you guess which one will get to witness this next Needle pulling event with Lucas and the others?**

 **CherryPuffball: Thank you UwU! They really deserve a little more character spotlight especially in fanfiction, you know?**

 **TheSpookster: Never encountered a Top Dogfish, like, at ALL. I looked it up though; it looks pretty cute!**

 **Guest: Nooo, don't die yet! We haven't reached 100% fluff overload yet! Anyway, yay for Fuel!**


	12. An Unintentional Reveal

**XII: An Unintentional Reveal**

.

.

.

.

"It's getting away!"

"Catch that monkey!"

The Pigmask Base, to clear things up, was not exactly the Chimera Laboratory, nor was it simply an extension. Nay; the Chimera Laboratory – the larger one – was a completely separate building from the base that the Commander and Paula currently resided in. The Pigmask base was secluded from prying eyes, so the location cannot be exactly pinpointed; however, the larger Chimera Laboratory was situated deep within Murasaki Forest, where most of the more complex chimera creation occurred. The smaller laboratory in the Pigmask Base housed the Chimeras ready to be released in the wild.

Claus could feel his eye twitching as he observed the Pigmasks running around frantically, Paula's arms wrapped around his neck to secure her place in his arms as they landed softly in front of the larger Chimera Laboratory, Colo the Bushie tumbling out of Paula's pocket, emitting a chittering sound that oddly enough sounded like it was saying 'wheeeee'. _Ugh, I don't visit for a few days and these idiots manage to ruin everything._

Paula, on the other hand, was currently playing around with her new helmet. While Claus's was rather bulky, hers had a sleeker design, being closer to a cyclist's helmet more than anything. A hole rimmed with pink near the back of it allowed her to thread her hair through it, making it seem as though she had a ponytail held up and out of the helmet, and there were two translucent butterfly wing shaped decorations on either side of it. A dark pink visor shielded her eyes from anyone who would be looking at her, and the Pigmask insignia was situated on the area above her forehead, just between the visor and the rest of the helmet. It functioned almost exactly like Claus's helmet – not that Paula could ever use it to the fullest extent, but it was a nice gesture to receive one, nonetheless. The butterfly wing shaped décor was, according to Doctor Andonuts, a way of transmitting waves so that the Pigmasks could track wherever she was in case the Commander wasn't with her, and the insignia on her helmet was a button to activate the transmission of said waves.

"Happy?" Claus asked the blonde in an amused tone, watching as she fixed the hair being 'held up in a ponytail' by her helmet. It was pretty surreal, seeing her wear the outfit he had made _and_ the helmet. It was almost like she really _was_ a part of the army.

Because of his rather sharp eyesight, he could see Paula's eyes glitter despite the visor. "Yes, thank you. I still think it was nice of Doctor Andonuts to add this little hole near the back so I have a sort of ponytail going on. Did you tell him I lost my ribbon?"

"I did no such thing." This Claus said with an almost teasing smile, which made Paula smile right back at him as she knelt down, picking up Colo and holding him in her cupped hands. Claus noted that Paula didn't leave her arms bare this time, the skin uncovered by her white jacket now covered by long black fingerless gloves. Where she got them, he wasn't quite sure, but he suspected that the amicable Pigmask Major he had encountered the day he first heard Paula singing was to blame for it.

 _Well, not to **blame** , but to thank. _Paula didn't see it, but Claus's eyes softened in what looked to be affection. _I'm glad she's feeling better now._

"Commander! Commander!"

Aaaaand there went the happy feelings.

Paula squeaked as a monkey dashed past her legs, chattering noisily as if taunting its chasers. On instinct, Claus pulled Paula close to him, just as Pigmasks stormed the spot where she had just been standing, chasing the primate around the vicinity.

"What's going on? Why is everyone chasing a poor little monkey?" Paula asked, mostly out of concern for said monkey. Colo thrashed in Paula's hands, chittering at the Pigmasks for almost knocking him out of Paula's hands, but they didn't seem to hear.

Claus crossed his arms, half-scowling at the backs of the Pigmasks still chasing after the monkeys for their inherent recklessness. "That troublesome monkey… Fassad took him – I assume it's a male, anyway – and blackmailed him into submission. I'm assuming this is yet another rescue and escape attempt."

"Blackmailed a _monkey_?" The blonde gave him an incredulous stare. "How do you blackmail a monkey, and how is Fassad so _cruel?_ "

"I have no answer to the second question; however, as to how he blackmailed him…" The Commander scratched his cheek, thinking. "I do believe he has the monkey's partner captive."

The dismay in Paula's face was evident as she put Colo in her collar and took Claus's hand, instinctively locking her fingers with his. There went the jolt of electricity up his arm again – however, this time, it was more pleasant, more of a tingly, warm feeling more than anything. "Claus, we have to get that monkey!"

"And do what, exactly?"

"I-I don't know… but we have to get to him before the Pigmasks do!"

Claus gave her a look, but didn't let go. "What exactly are you planning to do? Free the monkey?"

"No… I don't think I could do that… but…" Her grip on his hand tightened. "I know how it feels to be trapped, Claus. I just… want to make it feel better, I guess." She looked away. "It's better than being sad or angry that it's trapped, right…?"

Claus bit his lip, his insides in turmoil, mostly due to the sinking feeling that Paula was partially – if not fully – talking about her lengthened stay in the Pigmask Base as his charge slash prisoner of sorts. He hung his head a little, and then squeezed Paula's hand, almost as if he was reassuring her. He hoped it came across that way, anyway. "Alright, we can go after the monkey. But don't be-"

Paula had already hauled him off.

* * *

When they found the monkey, the Pigmasks had already chained him up and kept him in a cage, the monkey crying and pounding at the bars. At the Commander's arrival, the Pigmasks saluted before returning to their work, two stationing themselves on either side of the cage so as to make sure the monkey didn't try to escape again.

"Oh…"The look on Paula's face softened as she saw the grief-stricken look on the monkey's face. "You poor thing…"

"Careful, ma'am, it could escape at any moment or bite you. It's already slapped Jerry in the face." The Pigmask on the right gestured to the one on the left, who only rubbed their mask ruefully.

The blonde shook her head. "Don't be silly. He won't hurt me; would you, little monkey?" The last part of her sentence was directed at the monkey, who only looked at her sadly, his hands letting go of the bars as he realized that he really couldn't escape the laboratory. With a sympathetic sigh, Paula crouched down, reaching out to the monkey through the bars. Staring at her outstretched hand, the monkey hesitantly reached out to her, and once their hands touched, the monkey came closer, sitting down right in front of her, the only thing keeping them apart being the cage bars.

"What's his name?" Paula asked the Pigmasks on guard. "Does he have a name?"

The Pigmask named Jerry shrugged. "Fassad says his name is Salsa."

"Oh, what an adorable name…" Paula sat down, adjusting her hoop skirt in such a manner that it didn't hinder her from sitting properly or seeing Salsa. "Hello there, Salsa. My name is Paula." At the sound of Colo chittering from her collar, she gently took him out and placed him on her skirt. "And this is Vincolo, or Colo for short. Colo, this is Salsa the monkey."

 _Hi!_ Colo chirped at Salsa cheerfully. _Is nice meeting you!_

Salsa gave the Bushie a friendly smile, but he still looked rather sad.

Colo looked up at Paula in concern, and the girl sighed again, facing the monkey and reaching out through the bars once more, smoothing out the hair on Salsa's head in a slow and reassuring fashion. "You don't like being trapped here, do you, Salsa?" At the monkey's vehement shaking of his head, her gaze softened again. "Do you want to know a secret, Salsa?"

"What's she doing?" A scientist asked in the background.

The scientist's companion, who was currently wrestling an Almost Mecha-Lion, shrugged. "I'unno. The guys at the base say she's some sort of chimera whisperer or somethin'. Maybe that extends to animals too."

Claus watched quietly as Paula whispered, "I'm also trapped here, Salsa. See this bracelet?" The blonde shook the wrist with the PK No Bracelet, making the silver bracelet jingle melodically, the red light blinking rhythmically. The monkey's eyes seemed to widen at the sight, and unconsciously, Salsa reached up to the blue shock collar around his neck, fingers trembling once he touched it, the leftover sparks from Fassad's latest torture going through his arm. "This bracelet doesn't let me use my powers, so I can't fight back, Salsa."

"She's nuts, isn't she?" A different scientist whispered sideways to a passing Colonel, who only whacked the side of his head with a glove, reprimanding, "Quiet, you! The Commander is right there!"

"But… everything's still okay, you know?" At Salsa's incredulous stare, Paula laughed melodiously, taking off her helmet and placing it beside her, letting her blonde curls fall back to her shoulders in waves. "I mean, well, of course I miss my friends, but… it's not all that bad. I made friends here too. Major Daisy, Major Rose, Major Blossom…" Paula smiled at the monkey, Colo walking back and forth between the bars cheerfully. "I also have another friend, but I don't think I can mention his name without him turning as red as a beet, teehee. Right, Claus?"

Claus, in response, rolled his eyes. This seemingly out-of-character action for the Commander caused the scientist who was wrestling the Almost Mecha-Lion to lose to the chimera, the lion chimera licking his face cheerfully as he complained about its affectionateness.

"Anyway… my point is, Salsa… don't stop fighting, but…" Paula paused, unsure of how to word it without anyone in the current room thinking badly of her. "… If things look tough now, they'll become better later! So in the meantime… you have to keep smiling! Like this, see?" She smiled sweetly at the monkey, and Colo chittered in approval, the monkey smiling back at the genuine happiness in her smile. "There, see, you're doing it!"

 _Smiling all the time, despite the bad times…_ Claus's gaze softened as he observed his charge encouraging the monkey. _… How **does** she do it?_

Salsa clapped his hands together, doing an appreciative backflip. Paula giggled at this, and held up a hand. "High five, Salsa! To not giving up!"

"… Colonel."

A nearby Pigmask Colonel flinched and dropped the sheaf of papers he was holding at the sound of Claus's voice. "S-sir?"

"… What is a 'high five'?"

"O-oh, that, sir?" The Colonel visibly relaxed as he began picking up the papers he dropped, though he was still a little shaky, as he dropped more papers than he picked up. "W-well, sir, it's what one does when you're friends or w-when you're united with someone by something, like say, you both like chimeras. You could high five someone over chimeras."

Claus glanced sideways at the Pigmask as Salsa began doing a strange dance. "That's… interesting to know, I suppose. Is it harmful to either party?"

"A mild tingling feeling in the palm, but that's normally the result of slapping skin against skin."

"Hmm…"

Turning his focus back to Paula and Colo, Claus blinked, watching as Salsa seemed to be teaching an odd little dance to the little Walking Bushie. Well, he assumed that he was teaching it. Either that, or the Bushie, enamored by the dance, had begun mimicking it. Needless to say, the monkey and the Bushie had caught the attention of everyone in the vicinity, and were now dancing in synch with each other, the Bushie extending some of its leaves out to serve as 'arms' when needed in the dance.

Once that was over and done with, Salsa did another backflip to show his appreciation, and Paula giggled again. "You two are so adorable."

 ** _WARNING! WARNING!_**

Everyone in the room looked up at the red blaring light that had suddenly emerged from the ceiling, the sirens loud and piercing as Pigmasks suddenly began rushing out of the room, squealing in panic. Oddly enough, the light flashed yellow every so often – a fact that Paula pointed out. At the realization, Claus's face darkened, and without another word, he grabbed Paula by the hand, hoisting her up - Paula barely managing to slip on her helmet again - and pulling her out of the room, Salsa retreating to the farthest corner of his cage, frightened.

"W-wait! Claus, what's going on?!" Paula was unable to fight the Commander as he pulled her along with the rest of the Pigmasks crowding out, trying to exit the laboratory as quickly as possible. "What's the siren for?!"

Claus's voice was low and harsh. "We need to leave. _Now_."

"B-but why?!"

"Don't ask _questions!_ "

"I need to _know_ -"

"Commander! This way!" A Pigmask alerted, gesturing to a barricade that had been constructed outside. On the other side of the barricade, a dozen Pork Beans were parked, ready to take off if needed. Nodding, Claus sped his way to the Pork Beans, Paula still in tow, but just as he touched down, Paula noticed something vital.

"Colo! Where's Colo?!" Paula frantically patted her pockets for the Bushie. "We left him behind!"

Claus's pupils almost shrank into slits. "No, you are _not_ going **_back there_** -"But alas, Paula had already run back inside.

The Commander of the Pigmask army swore loudly to himself, making most of the Pigmasks stare at each other in worry as he unsheathed his sword, the blade crackling with electricity as he stormed after his charge, cursing the Bushie and the gall it had to leave itself behind. Dragging the sword along on the grass, he left a burning trail as he stalked his way back into the laboratory, leaving the Pigmasks to fret on their own as their Commander entered the evacuated area once more.

"He really cares for her, doesn't he?" A female scientist commented to a Pigmask chewing on Pork Chips.

The Pigmask shrugged. "Either that, or they're both suicidal. Not even the Commander will be able to survive a bite from the Ultimate Chimera."

* * *

 _Where did she go?!_

Upon reentering the Chimera Laboratory, Claus had immediately stormed over to the room where Salsa had been held captive, but there was no sign of the girl _or_ the Walking Bushie inside the room. The only living creatures there were the Almost Mecha-Lion, a Parental Kangashark, and Salsa himself, which made him curse loudly again as he slammed a fist on a nearby table, splitting it in half.

 _Are you okay, friend of Paula?_ Salsa padded up to the edge of his cage, observing Claus warily. He knew he was the Commander, but knowing that he ended up being Paula's friend – of all the people – mellowed down his image of the heterochromic teenager.

"No, I'm _not!_ " Claus punched a wall, cracking the metal exterior a little. "Where did she go?!"

 _outSIDE?_ The Kangashark glanced at the Almost Mecha-Lion. _mayBESide…_

The Almost Mecha-Lion purred, licking its paw and drawing it over its ear like a normal feline. _left with leaf. maybesafe. MAYBENOT._

"Which direction? Did you hear where they went?" By this point Claus had fully accepted that he could talk to chimeras, animals _and_ the native fauna of the Nowhere Islands alike, and was now conversing normally with them as though they were actual humans… despite the slight mental imbalances that came with being combined with other animals. "You. Monkey. Heard anything?"

 _My name is Salsa,_ Salsa grumped.

"Alright, I'm… _sorry_. Salsa, I mean Salsa." Claus pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, the gnawing feeling at the pit of his stomach telling him that he should be looking for Paula right now as he gripped his sword tighter, fighting the urge to punch a wall again. "Salsa, do you have any idea where Paula might have gone?"

 _This place is confusing as heck, so I'm betting she got lost on the way out. Try pretending you're Paula and think 'if I were Paula, where would I go if I didn't know where to go?'_

"Thank you. That's very helpful." Claus, out of habit, bowed to the monkey, and ran out of the room, just as the Kangashark stared at the monkey in concern. _ultiMATUm, yes? what if DEAth?_

 _I've got a bad feeling about this…_ Salsa confessed. _But that girl… Paula… she has some sorta power. Really powerful stuff… if she knows how to use it._

* * *

Paula couldn't move.

Standing alone in a hallway, Colo in her hands, Paula was frozen, staring at a large beast breathing heavily from across the hall. It was easily thrice her size, its pupil-less yellow eyes contrasting with its dark red fur. Although tiny, the purple bat-like wings not unlike those of the Commander's flapped threateningly, a large gray button situated right between them. A long orange tail thrashed menacingly against the wall, and a long row of large, sharp teeth grinned at her almost maliciously, the creature's ears pointed in her direction. A little yellow bird sat on the creature's head, chirping cheerfully – a stark contrast to the terror it was sitting on.

The Ultimate Chimera.

 _SCARY!_ Colo chirped in worry, burying itself into Paula's palm, shaking. _Hide please! Me hide please! Eeek!_

Slowly, step by step, the Ultimate Chimera approached the blonde, the shadow it cast growing larger and larger as it approached the shell-shocked girl, each thud loud and heavy. Finally, it was face to face with her, breathing heavily through its teeth, and Paula closed her eyes, hands instinctively closing over Colo protectively, shielding the Bushie from the Ultimate Chimera's view.

 _Looks like this is the end…_ Paula breathed heavily. _Well… goodbye, Claus. Goodbye Ness, Jeff, Poo. Goodbye mom, dad. I'll be seeing you all in heaven._

…

Suddenly, the side of her helmet was wet.

" ** _PAULA!_** "

Paula's eyes snapped open at the sound of Claus's voice.

Standing behind the Ultimate Chimera, the ginger haired Commander had showed up, looking frantic, his wings spread out – implying that he had dashed to get here, relying on the additional speed his wings gave him, only somehow, he looked… utterly confused?

Confused with the turn of events, Paula reached up with one hand, revealing Colo again, to touch the wet area, and felt the consistency of the strange liquid before the Ultimate Chimera licked the side of her helmet again… except this time her hand was still there, so she felt the rough tongue against her skin, or at least the parts that her glove didn't cover.

"Oh my goodness!" Paula shook the hand covered in Ultimate Chimera saliva away from her, said giant chimera staring at her curiously, almost in a childlike manner, its tongue lolling out. The bird on its head chirped cheerfully at her, peering down at Colo and waving with a wing. The girl turned to stare at the Ultimate Chimera warily, only to have the creature tackle her to the ground happily, Paula shrieking in surprise, Colo flying out of her hands.

" ** _GET AWAY FROM HER!_** "

 _BOOM!_

The Ultimate Chimera stopped, glancing at its side. A well-aimed PK Thunder had just grazed its side, the lightning attack itself bouncing off the floor and striking a nearby beaker, shattering it into pieces as the Ultimate Chimera got off of Paula, turning on Claus instead, growling. As if responding to the challenge, Claus's face darkened, and he brandished his sword, the sparks of electricity dancing across the blade threatening the other chimera into attacking.

The Ultimate Chimera pounced.

" ** _CLAUS!_** " Paula shrieked. " ** _PK LOVIN' α!_** "

Whether it was intentional or on instinct, neither of them were sure, but whatever it was, it had made violet hexagons burst out of her palms, hurtling towards both the Commander and the Ultimate Chimera like daggers being tossed through the air. The Ultimate Chimera howled as the PSI cut through its side, while Claus felt almost reinvigorated at the touch of a hexagon on his forehead, feeling his energy return to him. Noting the opening, Claus leaped – with a little help from his wings – and used the other chimera's distraction as an opportunity, and pressed the button on its back. Or rather, he slammed his fist down on it.

The Ultimate Chimera's eyes grew dark, and it fell over, lifeless, the bird along with it.

Both Paula and Claus breathed heavily, staring at the now unconscious battery-powered Chimera, Paula's fingertips still letting loose a few hexagons of PK Lovin'. Once they were both certain that it was not going to move, however, the reality of the situation sank in, and they both stared at each other, terrified sapphire blues meeting incredulous emerald green and ruby red.

 _Well, **shit**. _ Paula cursed mentally.

* * *

The trip home was very quiet.

Once Claus had made it clear that the Ultimate Chimera was unconscious, the Pigmasks began entering the base again, shunting the unconscious beast back into its cage as he took Paula home – making sure that Colo was with her this time, so as not to cause any more trouble. The whole time, he was pensive, lips pressed into a thin line, while Paula worried to herself, unsure of what Claus was going to do to her now that he knew that she had a special PSI the PK No Bracelet couldn't restrain.

"Paula."

"H-hah?! I-I wasn't thinking about what you'd do to me now that you know, of course not!" _Genius move, Polestar. Blurt out EVERYTHING you've been thinking of. I'm so proud of you._

Claus gave her a look. "…"

"…" Paula fidgeted in his arms. "Okay, so maybe I _was_ thinking about what you'd do to me now that you know I have… well, that kind of PSI."

The ginger stared at her for a moment before smiling. Paula was surprised by the affection behind the smile, blushing a little because of it. "What did you think I would do?"

"Um… I don't know… something drastic?"

His wings flapped as he tried to gain a little more altitude, seeing them almost hit the treetops. "If anything, I'm… pleased you have a new, special PSI. It just proves my theory correct."

"E-eh?!" Paula stared at him, wildly confused. "Theory?"

Claus stared in the direction of the base, calculating the time it would take before they arrived. "Ever since you've arrived in my care, every time you hold my hand or brush against it, there is a certain jolt of electricity that runs up my arm. I attested it to PK Thunder at first, seeing as that we both have it, but I was proven wrong."

"… A jolt of electricity…?" Paula was _very_ confused.

"I had this outlandish theory that perhaps you possessed a special PSI like I do, and that was what was triggering the jolts. Thankfully enough, you just confirmed it today." The Commander smiled again, though he wasn't looking at Paula this time. "That's something that Doctor Andonuts would be glad to hear about."

At the mention of the man, Paula wilted a little. "Are you going to make him upgrade the PK No Bracelet so that I don't get to use PK Lovin' too?"

"… No." At her bewildered look, he chuckled. "He can't anyway."

"Why not?"

"Special PSI stems from a person's truest self, not his inborn ability to possess PSI." Claus thought for a bit. "At least, that is what Doctor Andonuts has told me in regards to the subject. He can restrain Fire, Freeze, Thunder, and everything else along those lines, but not a person's special PSI."

The blonde mulled this over a bit. "I see… but… what are you going to do with me now? I have PSI to use now."

"Not that you know how to use it." Claus interjected, almost playfully.

Paula made a face, huffing in mock indignation. " _Rude_."

"I'm considering drafting you into the army." Claus admitted, which made Paula almost stumble in his arms. The sudden movements made both of them wobble in midair as Claus tried to steady his grip on her, and Paula tried to steady herself in his hold. "Careful, Paula. We're still in the air, you know."

"Don't remind me…" Paula groaned. "But… are you serious?! Me, a part of the Pigmask army?"

"Well… certainly. Why not?" He had been considering this for a long time now, ever since they had become 'friends'. If she was a part of the army, then he'd be able to keep watch of her _and_ she'd be preoccupied with tasks to fulfill so she wouldn't be bored inside the base all the time whenever he was out on patrol.

Paula looked lost. "I don't even know what you guys are fighting for!"

"For the glory of the King, of course."

"I don't even know who this Pig King is!" Paula pointed out. "Oh, wait, Claus, we're almost at our window, slow down a bit."

Spreading out his wings just a little more to slow their descent, Claus and Paula both landed on the windowsill of their room gently. Once they were on solid ground, Paula hopped out of Claus's arms, Colo hopping out of her collar to roll on the floor again.

"You'll get to meet the King one of these days, I'm sure." Claus reviewed his inner calendar for a moment, checking his schedule, and blinked, realizing something. "Hm. I'm scheduled for my bi-annual visit to the King in a few days in New Pork City. What a coincidence." He glanced at Paula, who had shed her helmet, gloves and jacket, leaving her in only the pink dress part of her outfit. "Perhaps… you'd like to join me?"

Paula stopped taking off her socks for a moment to stare at Claus. "… You want me to meet the King?"

"Well, you sounded like you wanted to."

"I just said I didn't know the guy!"

"Well, now you will. He's expecting your presence, anyway – the Pigmasks have informed him that I have a PSI user with me." At the sound of obnoxious ringing, Claus tuned in to a Pigmask calling him on his new transceiver, and he held up a hand, telling Paula to keep quiet as he answered a call. "Major."

 _"Commander, sir!"_ The Pigmask Major's voice was crackly, but recognizable. " _We think we have found the location of the next Needle!"_

Claus raised an eyebrow. "Continue."

" _It's somewhere in the vicinity of the Chimera Laboratory, sir! We're not quite sure, but there's this strange structure outside that's blocking an area off, and we can't seem to enter it even through the aerial method!"_

Paula watched as Claus's frame began to shake. "Did you say… the Chimera Laboratory?"

"… _Uh, sir, yes sir. Is… there a problem sir?"_

Claus looked like he wanted to break the transceiver in half. However, he took a deep breath, calming himself a little, before responding, "No… no, that will be all. My thanks."

" _No problem, sir! Oink!"_

"What happened?" Paula asked, the moment Claus put down the transceiver. "Who called?"

Claus tucked his wings back as he sighed. "They've found the next Needle and it's somewhere near the Chimera Laboratory. Honestly, of all the things to say…"

"Weren't we just there a while ago?"

"My point exactly."

"… Well, at least we know it's not _in_ the laboratory, right?" Paula tried cheering him up as he sat down on his bed across from her. "Don't worry, Claus. Everything will turn out fine in the end." Pause. "So… were you serious about me being in the army?"

The ginger stared at her. "Am I capable of flight and of murder?"

The last part of the question-answer spooked her, but she replied, "… So that's a yes then?"

"… Yes, I am serious about you being in the army."

The blonde flopped down on her bed, sighing, turning her head in his direction. "If I mess up I'm telling everyone it was your idea to put me in the army."

"Don't worry, you won't." Despite the helmet, Paula could see that his smile reached his eyes, a fact that warmed her heart a little. "I'll be there with you every step of the way."

"… Thanks, Claus."

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **A/N: shoot me paula is now part of the pigmask army**

 **But anyway, I have a reason for all this. It will alllll be explained... in a few chapters, maybe. But for now, take my excuse that Claus has grown rather attached to Paula and would rather keep him in her sight at all times. UwU**

 **Salsa will be in the next chapter too, if I play my cards right. But that might be the last time we see our neighborhood monkey, if I follow the M3 storyline. UnU Hopefully that won't be the case, but you never know!**

 **Remember how I put the Tazmily kids in to give them bigger roles and elaborate on their personalities? Well, can you guess who'll debut in this next chapter with the group? [Hint: It's not any of the girls.] I plan on switching people around for each Needle, so that everyone gets their own time in the limelight, hopefully.**


	13. The Second Needle

**XIII: The Second Needle**

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"Tell me again _why_ we're doing this?"

"Because Angie's a diehard DCMC fan!"

Ness tugged on his hair a little, frustrated. "Then why isn't _she_ the one heading up here with the other girls?"

"Because Kumatora took them to god knows where!" Fuel replied cheerfully.

The exasperated groan that escaped most of the little party flew right over the brunet's head as they made their way to the train station, the glaring lack of female companions in the group allowing the boys to relax into what was best described as stereotypical male behavior, though the fact that next to none of the boys there were truly normal was something they overlooked, if only for the moment.

Lucas led the group into the train as he paid the fee for all of them, Ness dutifully keeping pace with him as Jeff and Poo trailed a little behind them, Fuel lingering behind all four of them, the large lumber he carried with him resting on his shoulders, one hand supporting it effortlessly. It was quite clear that Fuel was the biggest among all of them, being just as tall as lanky Lucas, but with broader shoulders and spikier hair. He dwarfed the rather tiny Ness in comparison, whose full height only barely grazed Lucas's shoulders' height.

"This is going to be fun, Ness, you'll see," Lucas reassured the violet eyed boy with a smile as they took their seats in the train, waiting for other possible passengers to board. "The DCMC are a very popular band in the Nowhere Islands-"

"Mainly because they're the only band here, Luke," Fuel laughed, leaning back on the plush seats of the train as the doors closed, the train preparing to depart. "Makes it easy for people to stick to one thing, I guess."

Ness fiddled with his cap a little. "We had bands too, where we're from. The Runaway Five."

"Were they any good?"

"Eh. They got into huge pits of debt with the wrong people, but yeah, they're pretty good."

Even until now, the puzzle of where the Nowhere Islands were still baffled the (unknowing) time travelers, and the locations of Eagleland, Foggyland and Chommo _still_ confused the Tazmilians every time the other group would bring it up. Research on Lucas and Jeff's parts proved futile; even Mapson had no clue as to where they might find the areas or if they were easily accessible. At the moment, however, it didn't bother the three saviors of the world too much, so they tried to enjoy what they currently had going on for them with the Tazmilians.

One of them being tagalongs to Fuel's errands.

Minutes passed as the train merrily made its way to the last station, the boys preoccupying themselves with various activities as a jolly little tune played on the speakers. Jeff was currently devouring a book Richie had lent him while Fuel was tapping out the rhythm of the music on the train seat, eyes closed, humming to himself. Poo looked rather ridiculous, being a prince who was currently attempting to secure the multitude of little flowers Alle had managed to weave into his braid. Paula's red bow was like the bow on top of the present, still tied to the end of the braid like a flag.

Lucas, however, was preoccupied with observing Ness.

Unceremoniously, the moment the song had started playing Ness had fallen asleep, leaning against the taller and bulkier Fuel for support as the train hit a few rocks here and there. The raven haired boy's chest rose and fell in an odd rhythm, his cap askew on his head as he slept, oblivious to the world.

Lucas wasn't quite sure how it had happened, really, his crush on the violet eyed boy. As he leaned against the window, gaze still focused on Ness, he noted the way the sunlight seemed to be caught in his dark locks, making it seem glossy, almost like shiny obsidian. The blond could have gone further, illustrating in detail how he could see the way that Ness slept left him wide open, vulnerable, and absolutely adorable, but that would've taken all day. Angie had said so.

Lucas could honestly watch him all day, just snoring loudly, occasionally scrunching up his nose, wrinkling the bandage plastered on the bridge of it. It was soothing; a welcome sideline to Lucas's otherwise depressing life. He used to watch Claus sleep sometimes too, if only to be reassured of the fact that his brother was still there, and wasn't going to leave him alone. Lucas had always feared not having the ginger by his side whenever he needed someone to be braver, especially at night, when the skies were dark and the only source of light was the moon in the sky, so knowing that Claus had been there, sleeping peacefully in the bed next to him… it put him at ease.

Hinawa's death had rattled both twins and their father to the core. Even until now, Lucas was plagued by nightmares of the sight of his mother's back facing them, taking on the mechanized Drago with full force, as Claus looped his arms around him and dragged him into the rushing water of the river, Lucas screaming for Hinawa as their mother's last words to them echoed sadly in his mind.

 ** _I love you._**

No more good night kisses.

No more reassuring hugs.

No more Hinawa.

 _No. I have to stop thinking about that first. I… I promised Dad I wouldn't forget them, but I also promised myself not to get lost in memories._ Biting his lip, Lucas shepherded the sad thoughts back into the back of his brain for the moment, allowing himself the small happiness he had gained after his mother's death and his brother's disappearance: the arrival of Ness, and Jeff and Poo.

Ever since their arrival, Lucas's spirits had been lifted little by little, leading to him smiling a whole lot more than usual, especially around Ness, whose boisterous but friendly personality pushed Lucas's own lone wolf persona out of hiding. Kumatora and Duster had tried the same, honestly, and it had worked, somehow, but it was Ness, Jeff and Poo's arrival that laid him out in the open for his childhood friends to see. The years had hardened Lucas's formerly crybaby self into a lone wolf of a young man, and while he welcomed the friendship that Fuel and the others offered him, he was never the one who reached out to them – it was always them who reached out to him first.

They didn't say it, but they were glad the trio had come.

Lucas was glad they came too.

As the train rolled to a stop, Fuel glanced at Lucas, asking him silently to wake up the sleeping Onett native as if it was the duty he was born for. Rolling his eyes, Lucas leaned closer, pulling the brim of Ness's cap down his face as he whispered, "Wake up, Ness. We're here."

"Mnmm… cheese-lisbury steak… huh?" A violet eye blinked open, then another, and finally, Ness sat up properly, yawning. Lucas leaned back as well, if only to avoid bumping noses with the shorter boy as he stretched, Fuel standing up and slinging his 2x4 over his shoulder again as he got off the train, Jeff and Poo already a few steps ahead. Glancing around, Ness peered out of the window, seeing that they were indeed at their destination, and sighed, stretching again.

"Had a nice nap?" Lucas asked as they both stood up, stretching his own arms as they went after the three boys that had gone on ahead.

Ness shrugged. "Eh, guess so. Fuel was kind of like a wall though – really stiff and uncomfortable to lie down on."

"Angie describes him as a furnace, though. I wonder why?"

Ness rolled his eyes. "He's her boyfriend – of _course_ she'd say that." At Lucas's face, however, Ness paused in his walking. "Wait, he's _not?_ "

"I'm… not sure myself." Lucas fiddled with his sleeves awkwardly as they walked under the arch that led to the Club Titiboo ropeway, jogging to catch up with Jeff, Poo and Fuel as they boarded the cable car to the actual club. "Fuel certainly _acts_ like he's tied down to Angie."

Ness raised an eyebrow as he stared out the glass windows of the cable car, observing the ground get farther and farther away. "Doesn't he flirt with Snow White sometimes?"

"Snow Wh- oh. You mean Alle." Lucas's mouth twisted into a small frown at Ness's nickname for one of his friends, feeling something akin to a rock dropping into the pit of his stomach. "Yes, he does flirt with her, but never when Angie's out of earshot. It's like he'd rather have Angie see him flirt with another girl and tell him off for it than _not_ have her there seeing him do it."

A sigh escaped the Onett native's lips. "Your friends are weird."

" _Your_ friends are weird." Lucas shot right back.

"Yeah, but at least they're mine."

"… Yeah."

 _CLUNK!_

The two boys turned at the sound of the thump, seeing Fuel get the wind knocked out of him when he attempted to pass through the doorway while he held his 2x4 horizontally. Jeff and Poo were already on the other side, and were trying their hardest not to laugh at the sight of the brunet dropping the lumber on the floor, picking up the other end and dragging it along like a child dragging along their teddy bear on the dusty ground. At the sight, Lucas giggled and Ness snorted before they exited themselves, bypassing the two guards stationed at the entrance as they all entered Club Titiboo together.

Idly, Lucas wondered if any of the Pigmasks remembered him from his childhood days of working part-time at the factory.

A Pigmask glanced up from his magazine and gasped audibly at the sight of the blond. "Oh hey, it's the cute part-timer from years ago! How's it going, cute ex-part timer?"

At Ness, Jeff, Poo and Fuel's bewildered looks, Lucas smirked uncharacteristically, waving back at the Pigmask cheerfully.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

 _Running! Hopping! Skipping! Jumping!_

From the bushes, the little Walking Bushie hopped out, skipping and dancing to and fro cheerfully, whistling a little song to himself that made it sound like a hummingbird was trapped in his bushy body. Directly after, Paula emerged, gloved hands on her skirt, trying to watch out for stray branches, while Claus trailed not far behind, examining his surroundings intently. The two were currently wandering around – the two being Paula and Colo – the unknown area while the Pigmasks had been attempting to take down the barrier, but Claus, unwilling to let Paula out of his sight, had begrudgingly followed her around, despite his desire to help decipher the way to enter the well-protected area.

"Wait up, Colo!" Paula called, dashing off after the Bushie, mostly out of concern for its wellbeing. With each step, her hoop skirt made a tiny _boing_ , as if it was a spring.

The corner of Claus's mouth twitched, amused at the sight. He had promised Paula that he would take her to see Club Titiboo while the Pigmasks tried their best to figure out the barrier's secret, seeing as that his meeting with Porky was still a few days away. He had heard that the DCMC were playing that day, so he had decided that Paula would enjoy a little break from all the work. Not that Paula herself was working, of course, but he was at least a little certain that watching your roommate bark out orders to subordinates got boring over time.

Paula had yet to actually _be_ part of the army – as in fight with them or spar with them – since it had only been a day, so she was technically a member of the Pigmask Army in title only.

Captain Paula.

Or, as the other Pigmasks seemed to jovially refer to her as, the Commander's girl.

As Paula scooped up the Bushie, Claus felt the tips of his ears grow a little hot, and unconsciously, he reached up to feel them under his helmet, reveling in the fact that the biological parts of him still responded to certain emotional stimuli. The warm feeling of his ears under his gloved hands reminded the Commander that he was still technically half-alive, but the mechanical sounds of his wings emerging from his back reminded him that he was also half-dead. At the thought, his hand immediately dropped to his side, and his wings burst from his back, the hole in his wing finally patched up with a pink scrap of cloth – torn from the dress Paula had been wearing the first time they had met.

 _"I don't need that old thing anymore,"_ Paula had told him that morning. _"Besides, it was getting a little short on me, anyway."_

"Don't you dare run away from me again, okay?" Paula chastised the Bushie in her palms as she walked back to Claus, staring up at his outstretched wings. "… We're flying up?"

"It's faster than the cable car." Claus intoned.

"But the cable car has walls all around it?"

"What will you do if it caves in or it falls off the cable?"

Paula froze. Bingo.

Claus tried his best not to let a smirk of victory crawl up his face as Paula huffily stood closer to him, Colo tucked in her collar once more, awaiting his arms as she wrapped her own around his neck. Seeing his cue, the ginger scooped her up bridal style – it was quickly becoming more of a habit for the both of them – before bending his knees and taking off, soaring into the skies.

Paula's hand slipped down to the fur lining of his jacket, and momentarily, he glanced down at her. The dark pink visor cleverly hid away the sapphire blues that were shut tightly, trying hard not to look down at the quickly disappearing ground. Her blonde hair held high up in a makeshift ponytail fluttered in the wind as Claus allowed his wings to catch a breeze, allowing them to settle down safely right in front of the club, startling the two guards stationed up front out of their nap. _Figures._

"C-Commander! We didn't expect to see you here!" One saluted.

The other did a low whistle. "He's with his girlfriend, man, calm your shit, you look nervous as fuck."

Claus raised an eyebrow. _What's… a girlfriend?_

Paula, however, was not reacting as favorably. Sliding out of her keeper's hold, she took on a stance akin to that of Claus's, which was holding her back up straight, both hands crossed behind her back, and glaring straight into the guards' souls. The sight was ruined by Colo doing the same from her collar, but it had the same effect as it would have if Claus himself had done it. "Excuse me, but I didn't seem to hear you correctly. What was that you just said?"

"N-nothing!" The first guard stammered.

Paula's gaze sharpened under the visor. " _Excuse me?_ "

"N-nothing, m-ma'am!" The second one corrected, elbowing his friend in the side.

The blonde glanced at both of them almost disdainfully, walking directly in between them, the two guards jumping a foot apart just before she crossed them. "Claus."

"…?" Oddly enough, Claus had been enraptured by the spectacle to notice Paula calling his name at first. Once he heard, however, he looked directly at her, and felt the tips of his ears grow red hot again at her poised stance. He wasn't sure as to _why_ this was happening, but it was, and it wasn't exactly unwelcome.

"You were going to show me in, weren't you?" Paula asked him, voice cool and collected. It was very unlike the Paula he was used to, a fact that made his stomach feel rather weird again, the same way it did many weeks before, but he dismissed it, nodding at Paula.

"… Yes, yes I was." Straightening himself up, Claus gave one last glance at both guards, who saluted to him shakily before he followed after Paula, entering the club together. Once they were in, however, Paula immediately slumped backwards into him, the only thing preventing her from falling over being the fact that Claus had held up his arms to catch her.

"Easy there," He cautioned, steadying her.

Paula let out a breathless giggle. "That was so _crazy_!"

"What was?" Claus was a little too preoccupied with fixing Paula's hoop skirt, which had bent a little out of shape because of her almost fall.

"You know… me acting like you!"

"That's not how I act."

"Yes it is!" Pause. "Well, kind of. I… they _listened to me_ , Claus!"

" _I_ listen to you." Claus told her blandly. "Turn around; your skirt's a bit bent."

Paula huffed childishly as she complied. "I mean like… it's like I'm not a prisoner anymore, Claus!"

The ginger froze. _Oops._

"… I'm sorry." Paula mumbled, seeing the strange look that had crossed Claus's face at the mention of her status. "I made you mad, didn't I, bringing that up? After everything you've done for me…"

"… No, it's okay, you're right…" Claus didn't look mad, but he didn't look happy either. Instead he looked thoughtful, taking one of Paula's hands in his own as he gently trailed his fingers over her knuckles, as if feeling them, relishing in the action. Despite both of them having gloved hands, Claus's was toasty warm and Paula's was rather ice cold – especially the area with bare skin - , which made for a strange contrast as Claus's palm finally met with hers, her fingers automatically interlocking with his, as was her instinct. The blonde haired Captain let out a stuttered breath, and almost immediately, Claus squeezed her hand, as if reassuring her.

"You're not a prisoner, anymore, remember?" He reminded her, giving her a smile.

Paula would have been lying if she said that the smile looked too sweet to not be genuine. "Then what am I?"

"You're Captain Paula Polestar…" The ginger tilted his head to the side. "You're my friend."

The smile that brightened up Paula's face made Claus's stomach do strange acrobatics off the fucking handle.

Just then, Colo had decided that exploration was in order, and had hopped out of Paula's collar, chittering loudly as he tottered off, Paula groaning in frustration before following after the Bushie, her hand still holding Claus's. The Pigmasks lounging around the club eyed the two with amused looks, though they tried their best to be discreet, feeling the Commander's heterochromic gaze burn into their helmets as they passed.

 _So big place!_ Colo cheered, doing the little dance that Salsa had taught him. A half step here, a half step there, a giddy hop there, a twirl of a leaf there. The Bushie looked like it had bathed itself in liquid happiness, with the way it was currently acting, and, while the waitresses at the club cooed at the sight, the Pigmasks were annoyed, being forced to sidestep so that they didn't step on the thing, in fear of the Commander's wrath. They were well aware of Paula and her little companion, and tried their best _not_ to get on their bad sides. _Fa-da-la-dee-lee, lee-lee-leafy fa-da-la-da-la!_

 _That has to be the most nonsensical thing I've ever heard._ Claus rolled his eyes, being the only one who could understand the Bushie's chattering between him and Paula. Paula glanced at him, confused, but he only shook his head, chuckling to himself. The blonde puffed out her cheeks, close to pouting, and he only chuckled louder, diverting the Bushie's attention from dancing to the sound of his amusement.

 _Oof!_

The Bushie tripped over a red and yellow shoe, and started wailing, making the two roommates turn their attention towards him.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The owner of the shoe bent down, righting Colo by pulling him up by his leaf, patting the little Walking Bushie gently once he was upright. Colo nuzzled into his palm, chittering, as the blond laughed, smiling. He scooped the Bushie into his palm and tickled him with a finger. "I should be more careful where I walk next time, huh, little guy?"

 ** _Hey, C***s!_**

Claus's pupils shrank by a fraction, and he stepped back a little, a voice echoing in his ears. The pitch was different – higher, as if belonging to a child - , but there was no mistaking it. The blond bending down before them was the one currently talking – and the one who had been previously talking – in some of the flashes he had gotten. Paula turned to him in concern, immediately sensing his step backward despite not looking at him, and instinctively, he tightened his hold on her hand, as if she was his only tether to reality.

 ** _I-I found this really neat little guy, come look!_**

 ** _Grandpa says it's called a 'Walking Bushie'. It's supposed to be real nice to you- oh! Look, it just healed up my scrape, C***s! Look, see?_**

 ** _C'mon, y-you should try too! Say hi to it!_**

"Isn't that a Walking Bushie?" The only brunet in the group opposite to them commented, leaning on his lumber to examine the small creature nesting in the blond's palm. "I haven't seen a Bushie in like, _years_ , Lucas. This is so surreal."

Lucas nodded, standing up; Colo still nestled warmly in his palms. Ever since the emergence of chimeras, the native fauna had gradually died out, or at least had gone into hiding, terrified of the newcomers and their unfamiliar scents. The Bushie species was one of them, being a rather docile species of creatures living in the Sunshine Forest, and quite frankly all the Tazmily kids were rather sad when they found out about their gradual retreat. "I'm just glad they haven't really died out like Nichol said they had a year ago. But… what's one doing here?"

 ** _H-hey! Look, your scratches, C**us!_**

 ** _That's… so cool…! Bushies…!_**

"Claus?" Paula's voice was but a whisper, the name she breathed heard only by her and its owner as she placed her other hand on top of their entwined ones. "Are… you okay? Say something, maybe?"

Ruby red and emerald green eyes fluttered shut as Claus inhaled sharply, making the Tazmily group freeze as they were reminded of the two people that came with the Bushie, and the Commander breathed out, sighing as he let his free hand gently reassure Paula by lightly petting the hand on top of their entwined ones. "… I… I'm fine. I just had a dizzy spell, is all."

"…!" The hairs on the back of Lucas's neck seemed to rise as he raised his gaze to meet with the Commander's tentatively, Claus's one emerald green eye meeting Lucas's baby blues.

 ** _Stop being such a crybaby, Luke!_**

"Lucas?!" Jeff immediately surged forward to steady the woozy blond, who had faltered a bit in step at the sound of a child Claus's voice at that moment. Colo's leaf had raised in alarm the moment he felt Lucas almost go down, but when Jeff had caught them, he relaxed, chirping in relief. "Easy there, Lucas. D'you need to sit down or take a rest? We _have_ been walking around the whole time…"

Paula blinked, focusing on the glasses wearing boy. At the sight of her very good friend, her breathing hitched a little, and suddenly it was Claus's turn to be concerned as he ran his thumb over Paula's knuckles reassuringly, her hand involuntarily shaking as it began to sink in that Jeff, Poo, _and_ Ness were _right there_ , across from her. The three friends she had grown to love dearly over the journey to defeat Giygas, her three closest friends…

 _I don't… I don't…_ They were so close – barely a foot apart. _Is this for real?! Jeff was the only one who came with me!_ Taking a tiny step back – Claus's reassuring rubs growing a little more fervent upon sensing her distress - , Paula bit her lip, unable to believe the fact that they were all there. _Did these two idiots… oh no…_ She wanted to smack her forehead. _Ugh! I should've known they'd end up following somehow!_

And yet, she wasn't angry. She wasn't angry at all; she was well aware of Ness's reckless tendencies and Poo's desire to at least steer the Onett resident out of harm's way, so seeing them here made a certain weight get lifted off of Paula's shoulders… only to have its place taken by a much heavier one. They were here, they were _right_ there in front of her, and all she had to do was step forward and make herself known.

She wanted to feel their embraces again. Even if they only had to meet now for a short amount of time, no matter how short, she wanted that time, and she wanted her three best friends.

Jeff.

Poo.

Ness.

 _Ness…_

"Could I have Colo back now?"

Everyone was startled by Paula's voice, even Paula herself, who was currently holding out her cupped palms to her fellow blond. Both Claus and Jeff noted the slight quiver in her voice as Lucas gently deposited the Bushie in her waiting hands, and at the sight of the sapphire eyed blonde, Colo hummed cheerfully, radiating a happy aura that stilled the girl's minute shaking as she held him close to her chest.

"Is that Bushie yours?" Lucas asked politely, shoving his hands into his shorts' pockets as he smiled at Paula in a friendly fashion.

Paula glanced down at Colo. "… In a sense, yes, I suppose he _is_ mine…"

"Bushies have become very sparse ever since the arrival of the chimeras and the Pigmasks," Fuel added as an afterthought, scanning Paula from head to toe quizzically before landing on the Pigmask emblems on her helmet, jacket and belt respectively. His face seemed to clear upon seeing them. "Oh, sorry, ma'am, you're a Pigmask, aren't you?"

Paula glanced at Claus before nodding a little. "I suppose you could say that, yes." Sweeping her gaze over the group of boys, she asked, "Would it be prying if I asked as to what your little party is doing here?"

"We're running errands for Fuel's girlfriend." Ness intoned, looking exasperated.

Lucas immediately shushed him. "Ness!"

"What, Luke? It's true!"

"She doesn't need to know that!"

The blonde haired girl felt her heart warm, seeing that Ness hadn't changed a bit since she had last seen him. She opened her mouth, ready to speak, only to have Jeff beat her to the punch, turning to her with a critical look in his eye. "Excuse me, miss?"

"A-ah, yes?"

"…" Jeff's eyes narrowed considerably. "… Nothing. It's nothing important, sorry to bother you."

 _Does he… recognize me?_ Paula glanced at Claus, who was still unconsciously running his thumb over her knuckles in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. A gentle smile crossed her face at this, and she faced Jeff again. "Are you sure? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"You just remind me of someone I know, that's all." Jeff admitted, adjusting a Bottle Rocket sticking out of his jacket. "It's uncanny."

Fuel eyed Paula up and down, scrutinizing her. Paula almost sweated under the intensity of his gaze before he brightened up considerably, clapping a hand on her shoulder. Claus instinctively fumed. "Oh man, I didn't recognize you at first in that getup! You've got some nerve joining the Pigmask Army, Nana!"

"N-nana?" Lucas did a double take, and jumped back considerably, startling Poo into sidestepping. "O-oh, Nana! I-I didn't know you were- that is, you didn't- GAH!" The blond wobbled over backwards, but thankfully enough, Poo had stuck out an arm to catch him, steadying him until he was standing straight again. "T-thanks, Poo…"

Paula tilted her head to the side, opening her mouth to voice her confusion, only for Pigmasks to burst through the doors, oinking in terror. All of them turned to watch as Pigmask after Pigmask scurried away in panic, flailing.

"What's going on in here?!" Claus roared, the voice's familiar tone sending a shiver down Lucas's spine as he did so, recognition prodding him to try and remember just _where_ he had heard the voice before. The blond watched in trepidation as the Commander pointed at a Pigmask. "You! Explain!"

The Pigmask oinked in alarm, straightening their self out before reporting with a trembling voice, "T-The Ultimate Chimera's out again, C-Commander!"

"… Why."

"T-The monkey's friend, sir! The monkey we captured!"

"Salsa?" Paula perked up considerably, though she frowned at the insinuation. " _Salsa's_ behind this mess?"

"Salsa?" The name rang a bell in Lucas's brain, but he didn't pay attention to it at the moment.

The Pigmask oinked nervously at Paula's question. "N-no, ma'am! T-the monkey himself was going to leave b-b-b-b-but his little lady friend that was also trapped decided that t-tripping the cage and l-letting it out w-w-w-would be a good idea! OINK!" The Pigmask then proceeded to run towards the restrooms, squealing in panic. "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"

Claus groaned, exasperated. "I can't believe this."

"The Ultimate Chimera can't fly up here, right? Why are they so worried?" Paula asked him in concern.

With a shake of his head, Claus replied with an offhanded remark of "It can scale cliffs," before he pulled Paula along, who only managed to wave a goodbye to the group of boys before Claus managed to scoop her up bridal style again and rocket towards the Pigmask Base to sort things out again, grumbling, "You really can't let pigs do a man's job, can you?"

 _Bye byeeee!_ Colo called out cheerily before the three of them disappeared out the door.

* * *

"Fuel?"

 _Crunch. Crunch._

"Fuel, are you listening to me you big lunk?"

 _Crunch. Crunch. Crunch._

"FUEL!"

"What?" The brunet whirled around on the balls of his feet to meet Lucas's stern gaze with a cheerful smile. "What is it, Luke?"

"Where exactly are we going?" The blond stressed, gesturing to the forested surroundings.

Fuel paused, considering this. "… We're going after the two Pigmasks we saw earlier maybe?" Truth was, the boy didn't really _know_ where he was going or where exactly he was leading his four friends, but it just _felt_ right to leave the club right after the two Pigmasks left – the helmeted one and the one that looked a lot like Nana. Fuel had a strange gut instinct for these sorts of things, but nobody really believed him most of the time.

Now was one of those times.

" _Maybe?_ " Ness looked ready to box Fuel's ear. "Fuel, what the _fuck_?! First you drag us along for your errand running for your stupid girlfriend and now _this?!_ What the heck, man?"

There was a strange fiery feeling tickling the tips of Fuel's ears at Ness's words, which made him curl his hands into fists. Jeff visibly swallowed at the sight. "Angie isn't stupid. And I've got a feeling about following them! Nana and her important looking Pigmask boyfriend looked like they were on an important mission!"

"First, we haven't established that that was really Nana," Lucas clarified, facing his childhood friend head on. "And second, _what_ important mission?! All we heard was that some 'Ultimate Chimera' is on the loose along with a pair of monkeys!" Pause. "… Wait, pair of- she mentioned- Salsa!" The boy's baby blue eyes widened. "We have to go after those Pigmasks!"

"What- _you too?!_ " Ness faced Lucas incredulously.

The freckled Tazmilian shook his head. "I'll explain later Ness, but for now, we have to follow Fuel and his gut instincts!"

" ** _WHAT?!_** "

"Ness, please!" Lucas pleaded, placing his hands on the shorter boy's shoulders. It was quite a comical sight actually: tall, lanky and pale skinned Lucas trying to calm down a short and stocky tanned Ness, who was ready to blow up in frustration. "Just… just calm down, okay? I promise I will explain everything later-"

"OINK OINK OINK!"

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"Yikes!" Jeff sidestepped into Poo's arms, the prince of Dalaam hopping on the balls of his feet towards the nearest tree behind them, just as Pigmasks of all sizes and colors barreled past them, oinking cacophonously in fear and distress. At the arrival of the mob, Lucas had backed away into the nearest tree as well, hauling Ness along with him, the taller boy snaking an arm around Ness's shoulders and holding the shorter one closely to his chest as if he'd disappear into thin air as the Pigmasks continued to pour, with a few scientists mixed in with them.

Ness's breath hitched at the proximity as he looked up a little. Lucas wasn't looking at him, his eyes trained only on the people trying to escape whatever they were running from, so he couldn't see how Ness's ears seemed to tint maroon in his embarrassment, the redness soon spreading to his cheeks after a few more minutes of being pressed to the taller boy. As a tank rolled by, Lucas backed further into the tree, eyes narrowing, his half-embrace tightening, making Ness's cap wobble precariously on his messy black hair as Ness counted to a hundred, trying to keep cool.

It was a strangely surreal experience, having one of your new best friends somewhat embrace you while backed against a tree. It was weird, though; Ness was _not_ very accustomed to such close proximities, especially since, unlike Jeff and Poo, he hadn't known Lucas for years to be _this_ close. It was so strange and new and…

… _nice_ , the Onett native realized. _This is… actually not half bad!_

"… Is it clear?" Lucas slowly moved away from the tree he had backed into, unsure.

Poo patted Jeff down, checking the genius for any injuries before taking a few steps forward into the path the Pigmasks had taken, facing the place where they had come from: the Chimera Laboratory. "… It appears to be so."

"Thank goodness…" Lucas sighed, slumping in relief, only for his gaze to travel down to Ness, who he still held in an awkward semi-embrace. Yelping, the blond immediately retracted his arm and scrambled to his fullest height, stammering apologies to the shorter one, who only shook his head and waved the whole thing off, despite the incriminating maroon tinting his cheeks.

Jeff didn't pay attention to any of that, however. "… Where's Fuel?"

"Fuel?" Ness looked around, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried willing the heat in his cheeks to leave, to no avail. "Feee-youuuu-wellllll!"

"He can't have gone far," Lucas reassured, though it sounded more like he was talking to himself as he faced the direction of the Chimera Laboratory. "He must have gone here during the stampede, wading through all of them. It's the only plausible reason that we can't see him flat on the ground, stampeded on."

Poo gave a nod. "Let us make haste, then. Time waits for no man."

"You're the only 'man' here, Poo." Ness reminded.

The prince chuckled. "Only on my twenty first birthday, Master Ness. Only on my twenty first birthday."

* * *

There were three things that Lucas was certain of.

One was that Fassad absolutely adored banana peels.

Another was that he tended to scatter banana peels everywhere he went.

And another was that _he had just slipped on one._

"Crap!" The peel made him skid, falling over on his butt as the Ultimate Chimera managed to catch up to him, snarling.

After having tracked down Fuel to the Chimera Laboratory, an intense game of hide and seek had commenced as the group looked for the brunet, who had encountered Salsa and Samba during his search for the two important looking Pigmasks, and was now allowing both to tag along as he looked for them. Salsa had recognized Fuel's description of both Paula and Claus immediately, but had forgotten to disclose their names and titles, so Fuel was still technically in the dark about it.

Not that Fuel understood the monkey's speech, of course.

At some point, the group had encountered the Ultimate Chimera, and had proceeded to run away, Fuel or no Fuel. Soon afterwards, they had all managed to meet up, and were now horribly lost in the laboratory, the Ultimate Chimera still on their heels, so they kept on running, for everyone's sakes. A few encounters with some stray chimeras had led to Poo, Lucas and Ness clearing the path with PK Starstorm, Love and Rockin' respectively while Jeff unloaded a few Bottle Rockets and Fuel swung his lumber around, knocking them out of the room. The boys were tired and sore and really wanted to go home, but they couldn't do anything until they found the exit to the damned area. They were lost, but they kept on running.

At least, until Lucas had tripped on one of the many fresh banana peels Fassad had left lying around after his visit to the laboratory.

Fuel, at the sound of him falling, whirled around in horror, seeing his childhood friend vulnerable, and being unable to do anything about it. The brunet's heart beat wildly, the blood pounding in his ears as the large red chimera locked in on Lucas, eerie yellow eyes practically glowing as it advanced slowly, step by step.

"Get out of there, Luke!" Ness screeched from his position on Poo's shoulder, the prince of Dalaam hauling the Onett resident to safety by carrying him away like a sack as he struggled to reach the blond haired Tazmilian. "LUKE!"

Lucas tried, but at the slightest movement, he let out a cry of pain, his fingers ghosting over his ankle, sensing the swelling. The boy tried summoning what little Healing PSI he had with his fingers, but the realization sank in when only a single green hexagon erupted from his fingertips. _Oh no… I'm too tired to use any PSI… **shit** … _He winced, feeling the throbbing as he attempted to crawl away, only to double over in pain at any attempt at movement. _I can't move… I can't leave… is this really…?_

"DO SOMETHING, DAMN IT!" The raven haired boy yelled, thumping his fists on Poo's back in panic and worried anger. "Poo, you know Healing PSI too, do something…!"

Poo shook his head weakly. "I'm too tired to use any form of PSI right now, Master Ness, you know this. All of my energy has been spent-"

"THEN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, DAMN IT!"

 _I can't… do… I can't do anything…!_ Fuel would've tried using his 2x4, but the thing was _invincible_. He had seen the effects of his friends' PSI bouncing off of the chimera's body; if he had tried, he'd have done nothing _and_ would've lost his weapon in the process. _Agh, Luke…!_ Fingers running through his spiky hair, the teenager had a short flashback to when the Sunshine Forest had caught on fire and he had been trapped in the burning debris of his own home, wailing for help, only to be saved by Lucas's father, Flint.

 ** _Thank you, Mr. Pitch Black Flint!_**

On Lucas's end, his own life was flashing through his eyes. From birth to family times to Hinawa's death and beyond, he relived them all in the few moments he had.

 _This is it. This is it. Oh god, this is it._

 ** _THUMP. THUMP._**

The stomping noises grew louder and closer.

Fuel's breath hitched. _No… I gotta… I gotta…_ The teenager started moving forward unconsciously with slow sluggish steps, feeling a little sick with each step closer to the blond on the ground. _I have to…_

Lucas tried once more to move, and at another jolt of pain running up his leg, he sighed. _It's no use… I can't move…_

 _I gotta… I gotta…_ With each step forward, Fuel felt more feverish, his face red, sweat beading his forehead. The end of the 2x4 he was dragging seemed to make crackling noises against the floor as he focused his gaze on the Ultimate Chimera. _I have to…_

 _My name is Lucas..._ Lucas closed his eyes in resignation, bracing himself.

Fuel was as hot as a volcano now, his grip on his 2x4 switching to 'slamming it on enemies' mode. _I have to…!_

 _… And I, Lucas, am going to die._

 _I have to **SAVE LUCAS!**_

 _I'll see you soon, mom…_

" ** _PK FIREWALL!_** "

Lucas's eyes flew open.

The Ultimate Chimera roared, the lumbering beast backing off from the wall of flame that had erupted the moment Fuel had slammed his 2x4 down on the floor. Startled, the Tazmily team jumped back as the flaming wall of fire surrounded Fuel and Lucas in a circle, the offending banana peel getting caught in the blaze and burning to a crisp in the inferno.

"Holy _shit_." Ness cursed at the sight.

Jeff adjusted his glasses in awe. "Astounding! I've never seen such PSI – is it a unique PSI like PK Rockin', Ness? Surely you can detect that?"

"N… no, no it's… surprisingly not. I can't feel anything reacting to it." The Onett native and the Snow Wood student watched as Fuel's wall of fire began to die out, Lucas staring up at Fuel - whose back was turned to him – in awe. Fuel was poised over Lucas in such an intimidating manner – as if he was some sort of bodyguard with a giant shield or sword. In his case, it was his 2x4, and he looked so _scary_ , shoulders squared, feet apart, ready to defend Lucas. If they saw his face at the moment, they would have seen a look of pure determination despite the redness of it and the sweat dotting his forehead, his fingers gripping the 2x4 tightly.

The Ultimate Chimera snarled, ready for a rematch, but suddenly, it shut down, falling to the ground with a thump. With a satisfied cry, Salsa and Samba high fived each other before dashing back to the Tazmily team, making 'ook'ing and 'eek'ing sounds happily.

Fuel, seeing the disappearance of the threat, at least for the moment, relaxed, his 2x4 falling back into its slanted position under his arm as he glanced sideways at Lucas. "… You alright there, Luke?"

"… Y-yeah…" The blond replied, still in awe at his friend's newfound powers. "But… Fuel… you have PSI now…?"

The brunet blinked, and stared down at his hands, and then at his 2x4. Curious, he tapped the lumber lightly on the ground again, and a similarly large wall of flame erupted from the bottom and surrounded them in a circle. Amazed, Fuel reached out to touch the firewall, and, curiously enough, it didn't hurt him. It simply tickled at his fingers like loose petals in a field of daisies.

"… Holy fucking _shit_ ," Fuel swore upon realizing what it all meant.

Ness was rather certain that if Angie had been here, she would have screeched at his language. But she _wasn't_ here; she was with Kumatora and he didn't know where, and didn't particularly care. He _was_ concerned about the odd grin that Fuel had on his face as he played with the fire. "Fuel?"

"The fire… it's not hurting me!" Fuel laughed a little as the firewall burned out again. Turning around fully, he held out a hand to Lucas, who took it gratefully and stood himself up, thankful that all he had gotten out of that were sore kneecaps. "Luke, is this how it feels to have… that thing you do?"

"What, you mean… PSI?" Lucas stared deep into Fuel's eyes, a bit unnerved by the strange giddiness in his friend's eyes. "Um… I guess so? But this is a weird PSI. I don't think Kumatora knows that one… I don't think she has that, either."

Poo offered up a hypothesis. "Perhaps it is not a special PSI, but it _is_ unique to him? It seems to function as his form of a shield."

"This is…" Fuel lowered his head, a contemplative look on his face.

Lucas opened his mouth in concern, ready to ask if he was alright, only to be interrupted by the raglan wearing boy wrapping his arms around him tightly, burying his face in his shoulder, his 2x4 falling to the ground with a loud thump. Caught off guard, all Lucas could do was raise an arm to pat the slightly taller boy on the back, confused as to what he was doing.

By this point, Poo had let Ness down, and was now drinking a bottle of water to replenish his energy while Jeff recalibrated his one laser gun and his few Bottle Rockets. Ness, on the other hand, didn't know why, but there was a strange feeling roughing up his insides at the sight of Fuel and Lucas, something akin to a very heavy rock ricocheting around rapidly in his stomach before sinking deep down inside. He didn't really know what the feeling was, but it was making him a little unsettled, which made him confused as he adjusted his cap and straightened out his clothes, adjusting his backpack's straps as he tried to make sense of what he was currently feeling.

"… uc…" Fuel mumbled into Lucas's shoulder.

Lucas asked patiently, "Yes, Fuel?"

"… 'm so glad… I saved you…" The brunet's embrace seemed to tighten. "… Nobody needs to know…"

"Needs to know what, Fuel?"

"… How it feels to be helpless…" The burning house flashed through his eyes again, and he sighed, practically nuzzling Lucas's shoulder as he remembered the relief that had washed over him at the sight of Flint's sooty but friendly face years ago. "… Your dad… I'm so glad he came to save me back then."

"… I'm glad he saved you too." The blond whispered gently as he rubbed circles on the other boy's back, finally understanding what was going on. He allowed himself to embrace his childhood friend right back, and Fuel shut his eyes, still holding him tightly as a moment passed between the two of them, Salsa standing guard by the Ultimate Chimera while Samba held the yellow bird on top of the chimera hostage, knowing what its purpose was. Fuel and Lucas hadn't held each other like this in years, not since Claus's disappearance, and especially not since Hinawa's death, so the new warmth that seemed to radiate from Fuel like a fireplace was welcoming to Lucas before he finally moved back a bit, letting go of his friend as he patted his shoulder.

"You alright now, Fuel?" He asked him kindly.

Fuel nodded, bending down to pick up his lumber before smiling at Lucas. "… Yeah. C'mon, Luke, let's get out of here."

 _We know where the exit is!_ Salsa chattered excitedly, clapping his hands. _Follow us!_

Fuel and Lucas turned to Ness for clarification, knowing that he was the only one who understood non-human speech, but instead of the Onett native responding, it was Jeff, who nodded at Salsa in understanding. "Understood. Come on, you guys. They know the way."

"How- you can understand Salsa?" Ness turned to his friend, baffled.

Jeff seemed nonchalant as he traipsed after the monkey couple, who had already bounced off into a nearby hallway. "I understood Bubble Monkey, didn't I?"

Ness had no rebuttal for that one.

* * *

 _The Pigmasks had been messing around with this place last time we checked,_ Salsa murmured, holding a palm up to the strange stone wall. _They couldn't get in._

The group, after being led out by the two monkeys, was now standing in the place where the Pigmasks had been congregating before the escape of the Ultimate Chimera, which was the strange barrier by the lake of Dogfish. Lucas and the others examined the strange engravings on the wall with interest, Fuel running his fingers over it, being one of the few tall enough to do so. Strangely enough, the patterns looked like a person dancing, which Ness voiced out loudly to the group.

In response, the barrier immediately fell down, startling the boys into backing away. Salsa and Samba, however, bounded through the archway, chattering excitedly, just as a familiar sounding voice yelped in surprise, followed by a thumping sound as whoever it was fell down on the ground. "Auugh, not my dress!"

Fuel boggled. "Angie?!"

"Fuel?!" It was unmistakably Angie's voice floating through the doorway. "Fuel, is that you?!"

Jeff raised a hand. "Wait, maybe this is a tra-"

Fuel barreled through the doorway like a bull on a rampage.

"… Well, I tried." The genius sighed. "C'mon, you guys."

As the boys entered, they were greeted by the sight of a secluded sanctuary, hidden completely by the purple trees that grew on the cliff sides all around it. The wall rose once more behind them as they walked forward, noting the two different ponds lying parallel to each other – one filled with water, and the other as dry as a desert. Both had indents on their edges that promised a sort of stairwell – in the dry one's case, it _was_ \- , and beyond the two ponds, there was another pink shell house, surrounded by friendly looking yellow flowers.

A Magypsy house.

And Alle was sitting right beside it.

"Poo?" The white haired girl's lilac eyes shone in surprise and undisguised delight at the sight of the braided prince, standing up and letting the yellow flowers she had been playing around with fall from her lap, allowing the boys to see that she wasn't wearing her usual pink and blue get up with her dark blue suspenders. Instead, she was wearing a black dress with a heart shaped neckline that faded into varying shades of purple, pink, blue and orange near the skirt, which faded into white at the very ends. Her striped socks had been traded in for solid light blue ones, but her pink shoes remained the same as she took a few steps forward, as if unsure of what she was seeing.

Poo raised a hand to wave at her. "Is this really where you've been all day?"

"Kumatora thought it'd be nice if we hung with one of the Magypsies, you see," Alle explained as she stepped out of the flower patch to give each of the boys a quick hug. None of them really minded; it was Alle, after all, and Alle was a sweetheart. "Come on, I'm sure they'll be happy to see you guys. They're inside Doria's house."

"Doria?" A faint memory clicked into Jeff's head. "Oh, the violet Magypsy?"

The white haired girl nodded. "Yeah! Doria's been really sweet to us the whole time, so I'm sure everything will be just fine."

"Wait- did you see Fuel barrel in through here?" Lucas asked, looking around for the aforementioned brunet. "He heard Angie and practically stampeded through the entrance you see."

Alle laughed. "Yes, I saw him. He's inside with Kumatora, Doria, Richie and the two monkeys now."

"Was Angie really there by the entrance?"

"Yes; she was going to go out when the two monkeys startled her into falling down on her butt." Alle moved towards the shell house, her hand on the door. "When she stood up, Fuel scooped her up into his arms and ran in here. Don't know what happened after that. He seemed pretty excited."

"Well, the guy _did_ just discover he had PSI." Ness supplied as he shoved his hands into his pockets nonchalantly. "Maybe he felt the need to share it with her?"

The lilac eyed girl blinked. "... Huh. Why am I not surprised to hear that? Oh well." She pushed open the door, and immediately, Kumatora's voice called out. "Oh hey, it's Lucas and the gang!"

"Oh my~!" Doria crooned, swooning as the boys entered the room. "Hello there, darlings, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Hurrying over to them, the Magypsy started pinching everyone's cheeks, especially Lucas's, who only laughed at the attention. "Lucas, oh, you handsome young man, it's so wonderful to see you!"

The blond smiled. "It's great to see you too, Doria… but why are the girls here?"

"My idea, absolutely." Kumatora flashed a thumbs up and a cocky smile at Lucas. "Don't worry, we were just havin' a little fun here with Doria before you had to pull the Needle."

"The Needle? There's a Needle here?" Lucas looked alarmed.

Richie, who was lounging on Doria's sofa, drawled, "Well, yeah, there is! It's at the bottom of the pond filled with water outside, so we can't really get it unless we somehow transfer the water to the empty one." She flipped over on her stomach so that her chin was perched on the armrest of the sofa. "Unless you guys have some sort of water transporter or PSI to do it, Lucas can't pull the Needle."

"You're unexplainably hot today," Angie told Fuel, who currently had his arms wrapped around her as they sat on the bed, the brunet's face buried in Angie's fluffy hair as he relished the contact. At Fuel's murmuring into her hair, the girl rolled her eyes. "I meant your body temperature, you dork. You're like a fireplace right now. I could probably throw you in the pond and the water would evaporate from your body heat."

Beat.

Everyone turned to stare at Fuel. Angie, upon seeing the looks on their faces, suddenly shrank back, regretting what she had just said. "You guys can't possibly be serious."

At this, Fuel felt his sins crawling up his back.

* * *

Fuel felt the water droplets cascading down his back before they evaporated.

"… I can't believe that actually worked." Jeff grumbled.

"I can't believe you guys actually threw me into a pond to evaporate all the water." Fuel shot back.

"Fair point."

"So that's a Needle, huh?" Richie mused as the group all went down into the now dry pond, Fuel moving out to dry off in the other pond while grumbling. "It looks really pretty."

Doria pushed their sunglasses up on their face as they spoke, addressing Lucas. "Can you really pull this Needle, like Ionia said...? I'm not sure if I should be afraid or happy..." The Magypsy shivered. "A rush of emotions is overcoming me! I can't believe I'm here, witnessing this moment, ooh~!"

"If this Needle gets pulled, you'll disappear like Aeolia did… right?" Kumatora faced one of her six parental figures, biting her lip. Conflicted emotions seem to run through her eyes – something that Doria picked up on immediately, having raised the pink haired princess from childhood.

Doria moved forward to embrace Kumatora. "Yes, that's right, my darling Tora, I will disappear… because the Needle won't need my protection anymore. The Needle can only be pulled when 'the time' comes, so when the Needle finally IS pulled, 'the time' has come." The violet Magypsy allowed Kumatora to bury her face in her shoulder as they reassured, "We Magypsies have lived our lives so that we can happily accept that fate when it comes. So don't worry, my precious little princess: I'm not going to die. I'm simply going to follow fate and disappear, so it will be a happy thing. I do have many fond memories, though, so it will be a little sad, too."

"Why do you guys have to disappear, anyway…" Kumatora grumbled, though it sounded more like a petulant whine to the violet Magypsy. "… Can't everyone just… y'know, stay…?"

Doria giggled before embracing Kumatora tightly one more time. "Oh, my dear, that's not how the world works~! We Magypsies are connected to this world, and to the Needles who will save this world, so think of it as us doing our duty as members of this world we live in."

"… I'm gonna miss you," came Kumatora's sad mumble.

Doria's gaze softened behind their sunglasses. "I'm going to miss you too, darling. You were such a sweet little girl… I'm glad you've turned out this way."

"… Really? You're glad I'm not prissy?"

"Heavens, yes, darling." Doria moved away a bit to place a kiss on Kumatora's forehead. "It would have been nice, but that simply wasn't you, and all we wanted was for you to be happy with who you were, ohoho~!"

"…" Kumatora wrung her wrists awkwardly. "… Oh…"

"Now, now, chin up, sweetheart, it's not the end yet!" Doria then turned back to Lucas, who was standing in front of the Needle, cautiously examining its golden glow. "Well then, Lucas, you brave boy, you, go ahead! It's not going to bite!"

Lucas glanced at everyone. By this point, Fuel had come back from the other pond, now shirtless due to the fact that he had left his raglan drying in the other pond, and was now standing by Angie, both of them smiling at Lucas encouragingly. Alle and Poo, next to them, nodded at him, Poo a little more stoically than the pale skinned girl. Ness, Jeff and Richie all flashed him a thumbs up. Salsa and Samba watched from above, curious, while Kumatora and Doria stood off to the side, one of Doria's hands still on Kumatora's back, as if it was keeping her upright.

"Go on, Luke," Alle encouraged.

 _… Here goes nothing, then._

Exactly like when Claus had pulled it, the Needle had disappeared into a beam of white light, and purple flame had bloomed from the hole it had previously been in, the whole area shaking furiously. Once more, the tremors occurred all over the Nowhere Islands, everyone panicking as it happened. The moment it died down, however, Lucas felt a new energy blossoming forth within him, and he closed his eyes, letting the warm feeling overtake him.

 ** _Lucas learned PK Love β!_**

"This really is… the beginning of the end." Everyone turned to face Doria, who was finally beginning to disappear into specks of starlight. The Magypsy giggled. "'The time' has finally come… it's so surreal! I never once imagined someone would show up at this tender girl's home to pull the Needle. Disappearing while still young and beautiful... in one sense... it's bliss..."

Alle looked sad. "So… you're really disappearing…?"

"Indeed I am, little lark, ohoho~!" Doria held out their arms, and hesitantly, Alle moved forward, only to embrace the Magypsy tightly, despite the fact they were disappearing in her arms with every passing minute. "Oooh, that's quite the tight embrace you've got there. Whoever you end up being with will be a happy person indeed~!"

"You were really nice to us even though Kumatora just dragged us along…" Alle whispered. "… Thank you, Doria."

The Magypsy smiled in an almost motherly fashion. "Any friend of my darling Kumatora's is a friend of mine, dearie. Oh, come over here, the three of you!" Doria gestured to Angie, Richie and Kumatora with a hand, and immediately the three girls swarmed the disappearing Magypsy, giving them hugs of appreciation as more orbs of light escaped into the air, taking with them the rest of Doria's body. The boys could only stand around awkwardly as tearful farewells – well, tearful on Richie and Angie's parts anyway (Kumatora was biting back tears while Alle was simply grateful for the time spent) – were exchanged between the group.

"Tora, our little princess…" Kumatora looked up at Doria's voice. "All of you… go with little Lucas here and see things through to the end, alright?" The Magypsy giggled, though it was a lot more somber this time. "I'm about to disappear youthfully and beautifully... Think about me sometimes, okay? Here, take this memento of me." In Doria's hand was a razor and lipstick, which Alle took and put in her pocket as the Magypsy stepped back.

"I leave the rest in your hands now, darlings." And with that, Doria struck a pose, and disappeared into starlight. "Bye now, dearies~! La la laaaa~!"

* * *

"Eek!"

Claus whirled around at Paula's startled voice, ready to ask what was wrong, only to have the girl barrel face first into his chest at the sudden rumbling occurring all over the Nowhere Islands. Instinctively, Claus opened up his wings to steady themselves as they waited out the quaking, Colo still fast asleep in Paula's collar. Once it stopped, however, the two of them separated, regaining their bearings as Paula voiced out her concerns. "… Does this mean that…?"

"… Another Needle was pulled." Claus finished her sentence for her, straightening out his jacket. "That leaves five Needles."

The blonde contemplated this. "… So there's another person who can pull the Needles?"

"Another person with the same orders, most likely." Claus told her as he sat down on his bed, wings retracting into his back. After having checked on the unconscious Ultimate Chimera in the laboratory – they still weren't sure as to _who_ had done so - , Claus had heaved the chimera back into its cage before sealing the lock shut with a little PSI before taking Paula home to their room, where the girl had proceeded to ungracefully flop down on her bed, sighing in relief. "… I didn't say that Needle pulling was something only few people could do. What made you say that?"

"… I dunno." Paula confessed, pulling off her helmet and placing it gingerly next to her pillow. Sitting down, she took the teddy bear Claus had given her before along with the dress and cuddled it, musing, "It just seems like a really important thing if your king wants you to do it and nobody else."

Claus glanced at her. "You could ask him, if you want."

"Huh?"

"You're going with me to New Pork City in a few days, aren't you?"

"O-oh, right!" Paula's eyes widened. "You're going to meet with this King Porky guy and then I'm going to understand what you're fighting for!"

The ginger rolled his eyes as he carefully took off his boots, placing them beside his bed before leaning against the headboard, sighing. "… I don't think he's going to be pleased that I didn't pull this Needle."

"Maybe try not mentioning it to him?" Paula suggested, lying down. Her hoop skirt had already been taken off, allowing a more comfortable position as she rolled over to face him. "Or try informing him of the nicer things that happened. Surely he can't punish you for not pulling this one, right?"

Silence.

"…"

"…"

"…"

Paula looked down. "… He will, won't he?"

"… It's nothing I haven't experienced before." Claus uttered tonelessly, closing his eyes momentarily as he tried to concentrate on the strange memory flashes he had received upon meeting the strange blond boy at Club Titiboo.

 ** _Hey, C***s!_**

 ** _I-I found this really neat little guy, come look!_**

 ** _Grandpa says it's called a 'Walking Bushie'. It's supposed to be real nice to you- oh! Look, it just healed up my scrape, C***s! Look, see?_**

 ** _C'mon, y-you should try too! Say hi to it!_**

 ** _H-hey! Look, your scratches, C**us!_**

 ** _That's… so cool…! Bushies…!_**

 _How did I know… that they were the same person?_ Claus's brow furrowed. _… Do I know him from somewhere?_

"… Claus?"

"… Yes?" The boy opened his eyes to glance at his roommate, who was on her side, looking at him in concern. "Is something the matter?"

Paula bit her lip; should she tell him about Ness and the others? _How would he react if I told him that we had just met my other friends?_

"… Paula?"

"… N-nothing, it's nothing." Paula looked away guiltily. _Maybe I'll tell him some other time... he looks really bothered about something._ "A-anyway, what time is it, Claus?"

Claus paused in his thinking to bring up his internal clock. "… It's almost eight. Are you feeling tired?"

"Kind of, yes," Paula admitted. "Will you be okay if I went to sleep now?"

"… I'm usually awake when you're not, anyway." The heterochromic boy told her. "You can take a rest now; it's been a pretty noisy day."

The blonde's face reflected her relief as she buried her face in her pillow. Minutes passed before she quietly piped up again with a "… Claus?"

"Yes, Paula?"

"You… take a rest in a while too, okay?"

"… Why?"

"You just look tired… that's all. Sleep always helps me whenever I'm bothered or tired." She yawned, burying her face further into her pillow. "Anyway, I'm getting really sleepy now…"

"You should sleep."

"You should, too."

"I will."

"When?"

"In a while."

"Promise?"

"…" Claus shook his head, an amused smile gracing his lips. "I promise. Now go to sleep."

Though he couldn't see it, Paula was smiling into her pillow. "Good night, Claus."

"Good night."

* * *

 **A/N: OH MY GOD THIS TOOK TOO LONG BUT ANYWAY**

 **I'm sorry the update took this long! I've been busy with schoolwork and I couldn't get enough inspiration to write about the next Needle! But it's here now with a generous sprinkling of HOLY SHIT FUEL HAS PSI :D**

 **Despite the fact that it is shittily done, I have tried my best to draw what Alle was wearing in this chapter! I will have or probably have uploaded it to my dA, lovelymisslalonde, and my Tumblr, classycloudcuckoolanderclasso after I update this story, so in case you wanted to get an idea of what it looks like, it's there.** **I've also gotten into South Park, so I might start on another Fanfiction while I'm still rearing to write it, so don't be surprised if I suddenly have a different story in the works, mmkay?**

 **Reviews would be really nice even though I know this chapter is probably the shittiest out of all that I've written! See you guys!**

 **EDIT: Jesus Christ this is also the longest chapter ever just fuck me up**


	14. The Tree

**XIV: The Tree**

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It had been a long time since Lucas had laid out on the grass to watch the stars.

After a moment in memory of the kind Magypsy Doria, the children of Tazmily, the saviors of the past, and Princess Kumatora all made their way back home on the train, most of the DP courtesy of Lucas, though Kumatora had eventually caved in and paid for herself and the other girls, to their surprise and delight. Lucas didn't oppose to it, but it did feel like a stab at what little masculinity he still had, or at least, that was what had crossed his mind then, though it disappeared immediately because he knew Kumatora only meant well.

As the sun sank below the horizon once more, bathing Tazmily in the quiet blue glow of the night, fireflies – as in little lightning bugs, not the weird creatures Lucas fought on an almost daily basis on his way to the Drago Plateau – bursting into life and dancing in the air. Caught up in their childhood, most of them stopped to watch in awe, with Alle even holding out her palm as one landed on it and skittered around curiously, making her giggle.

Lucas did not miss the soft look that had crossed Poo's face at that moment. The thought that the stoic prince thought dearly of his white haired friend made Lucas smile, if only a little, as he glanced at Ness, who didn't seem to care for the bugs, having seen many of them as a child in Onett. One landed on his nose, and the Onett resident went cross-eyed, staring at it, until he batted it away, sniffing. The action made him scrunch up his nose a little in such a way that he looked rather adorable, at least to the blond boy with the cowlick.

Lucas's stomach churned, but not unpleasantly.

"Oh, you're back!" He turned, and saw Nichol and Duster by the path to Lucas's house, waving them over. Boney wagged his tail as he paced around their legs, perking up at the sight of his blond master. It had been Duster who had spoken, commenting as they came closer, "Heh, guess this means you get to punch me in the stomach, huh, Tora?"

The pink haired young woman grinned. "Treat me out to dinner instead and we'll call it off."

"Wh- why're you going to punch Duster in the stomach?!" Lucas asked, bewildered.

Kumatora glanced at him and chuckled. "I told Duster we'd end up meeting with you guys at some point during the day before going home, and he said it wouldn't happen. We made a bet that if we did meet, I get to punch him in the stomach."

"Apparently, taking her out to dinner constitutes as a substitute." Duster laughed good-naturedly before telling Lucas, Ness, Jeff and Poo, "Flint has been waiting for you guys. You'd best hurry back."

"I'd best get home too, or Dad will have my head." Nichol held a hand out to his sister, who took it without hesitation before they both waved goodbye to the group, heading on home.

Fuel shifted the 2x4 on his shoulder. "I have to get home too. Dad will need a little help getting dinner ready and I have to bring Angie home too."

"Oh, you should show Duster and Boney what you can do, Fuel!" Lucas beamed. "Duster, can you believe that Fuel can use PSI too?!"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Hold on a bit… uh…" Fuel walked over to a wide space covered in cobblestone, far from the houses and any combustible objects, before declaring, "PK Firewall!" and slamming his lumber on the ground like he did before, and just like that, a wall of flames erupted from the end of his 2x4 and encircling him, completely covering him in blazing hot fire.

" _(That's so cool!)"_ Boney yipped, wagging his tail wildly as Fuel let the flames die down again before coming over again.

Fuel held a hand to his forehead. "Is it normal to feel dizzy after using that stuff? PSI, I mean?"

"You're running out of energy, probably. You should probably go home, man." Ness cautioned.

Angie laced her fingers with Fuel's, looking up at the taller boy in concern. "Come on, Fuel. We'll tell your dad you'll be having dinner at our house, the two of you."

"What? But-"

"Come on, your dad loves my mom's cooking. Er, baking." An uncharacteristically soft look crossed the brunette's face as she squeezed Fuel's hand. "Mom won't mind if you stay over, and maybe… you can stay after? We can have a sleepover."

Lucas wasn't absolutely sure, but in the light of the fireflies, it kind of looked like Fuel's cheeks had turned pink. "A s-sleepover?"

"That's a wonderful idea!" Alle exclaimed, making everyone look at her. "We haven't slept under the stars in forever, you guys! It's been like, what, years?"

Kumatora shifted her weight to her other foot as she crossed her arms. "So I'm guessing Duster and I will be chaperones to this whole event if it does happen?"

"No, not necessarily, though you can come and join us!" The gentle illumination the fireflies cast on Alle's face made her eyes shine with pronounced hope. "Come on, you guys. Please? I'll call Richie and Nichol and see if they want to join too if we're gonna have one!"

Poo, Jeff and Ness glanced at each other before Jeff spoke up. "Your parents let you sleep under the stars and that already counts as a sleepover?"

"Technically… they only allow it when it's near our house." Lucas rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Our area is the safest from chimeras, and the cliffs have the best view of the stars and the freshest air."

Angie looked miffed that her attempt at coaxing only Fuel to stay for the night had been ruined, but she still looked interested as she asked, "Hey, do you think our names are still on that old tree on top of the cliff?"

"You mean the one we etched on when we were ten?" Lucas cocked his head a little, closing his eyes, trying to remember, before nodding vigorously. "Yeah, it's probably still there! Nothing's touched that old tree in forever, so we should be able to see it still!"

"We should go check it out!" Angie said excitedly, clinging to Fuel's arm. "Fuel, don't you think so?"

Fuel laughed. "Whatever you say, Angie."

"Does this mean…?" Alle turned to all of them. "Are we really going to…?"

"Yeah; we're gonna have a sleepover." Lucas replied, his heart soaring at Alle's beaming face. "I… okay, I'll tell Dad we're going to sleep outside tonight. You guys go gather the blankets and pillows."

Poo looked a little bothered. "Is this… customary of you here in Tazmily?"

"It used to be… before my mother died." Lucas looked away, and everyone fell silent, unsure of how to respond to that. After a few moments, however, the boy sighed and smiled weakly. "I'm sorry, that was a mood-killer. I'm glad we're doing this again, Alle, I really am."

"It's not a Tazmily kid sleepover without you, Luke." Alle replied earnestly, wrapping her arms around Lucas and giving him a gentle squeeze. "I'll go ask if Richie and Nichol can come with us now, okay?"

"Okay."

"Come on, Fuel, we still have to ask your dad to come over to our house for dinner." Tugging him along, Angie led the gentle giant away, her tiny hand engulfed in his large one.

Without another word, Lucas headed back towards his house quietly, the three unintentional time travelers trudging after him, the melancholy hanging low in the air. Duster gave them a concerned look before kneeling down, ruffling the fur on Boney's head, and heading off with Kumatora, not really intending to intrude on the sleepover. It was a sleepover for the kids in Tazmily, not 'Duster and Kumatora babysit nine teenagers', after all. Boney himself ran after Lucas, panting, until the blond slowed, letting himself walk at a more leisurely pace than his previous steps, which were slightly hurried.

As Jeff and Poo made to follow Lucas, Ness lingered a little, watching the three boys retreat to the house overlooking the ocean for a bit, hands in his pockets. The sudden melancholy that had fallen over the group at the memory of Lucas's mother's death hadn't flown over his head, so he was rather concerned about Lucas's current emotional state.

"Hey."

Ness blinked and glanced behind him. "Oh, Alle, you're still here?"

"..." The white haired girl had a firefly perched on her dainty little finger, glowing gently as she looked at Ness; the firefly's light illuminating her face as she spoke, "You're worried about Luke too, huh?"

"He's my friend; of course I am!" Ness exclaimed in reply, facing her fully. The firefly left her finger to float lazily around again as he added, "I mean… he just suddenly quieted down, and it's really unsettling 'cause-"

"You don't know what to do when Lucas suddenly looks gloomy, huh?" Alle's chuckle was light and airy as she reached out to touch Ness's chest, where they both assumed the heart was. "It's okay. Just let him know that we're – _you're_ – there for him. That's how it works."

"How are you so knowledgeable about this sort of stuff?"

"Oh, I'm not, really." Alle let her hand fall back to her side. "It's just that… well, I live with Nana."

"And?"

"Nana doesn't exactly have parents."

"Everyone has parents."

"Not Nana." Alle shook her head sadly as she adjusted the strap of her dress. "For as long as I can remember, Nana's been the one kid in the whole town without any sort of relative. Richie and Nichol have their parents, Angie has hers, Fuel has his dad, Lucas has his dad, and I had my parents and sort-of grandfather. Nana had nobody."

Ness's gaze softened. "That's… really sad. How did she live here all alone?"

"My parents took her in the moment they realized that Nana was all by herself. That's what I meant when I said I live with Nana." The girl played with one of her braids idly. "She's like my sister, practically, and… sometimes I see parallels between her and Lucas during times like these."

"…?"

"You'll understand when you meet Nana." Alle shook her head, laughing, before shooing him. "Now, shoo, go after him, lover boy. He's probably biting his knuckles off worrying about you."

Ness paled. "Would he really?"

"No, of course not!" The lilac eyed girl gave him an incredulous stare. "Just go, darn it!"

"Okay, okay!" And off he went, waving goodbye to Alle, who skipped over to Richie and Nichol's house to inform them and their parents of the arrangements. Ness, on the other hand, would find himself at Lucas's doorstep before Alle's words would sink in.

"… _Lover boy?_ "

* * *

Hours later, Ness woke up leaning against a rather old – practically ancient – tree to a weight on his shoulder. And a weight on his lap too.

No, wait, it was just Jeff and Richie, the former leaning on his shoulder and drooling, glasses askew, while the latter's head was on his lap, cushioned by a pillow. His cap was on Jeff's lap, discarded.

Shifting slightly, the boy tried to adjust his posture. In response, Jeff groaned and lolled his head over to the shoulder of the person on his other side, who turned out to be a fast-asleep Poo, Alle leaning into his shoulder and sleeping peacefully, nuzzling his neck in her sleep. Richie whined as Ness tried to move, and ended up rolling over, smacking Nichol in the face. Her brother grumbled and flipped over, burying his face in his pillow as Fuel snored loudly next to him, Angie sandwiched between the tall brunet and an unfamiliar blonde haired girl in a frilly pink dress that could only be Nana, though Ness couldn't see her face because she was turned away from him. _She must have arrived when we dozed off. At least she came._

The 'sleepover' – or, as Ness liked to call it, 'a sleepover under the stars' – had gone particularly well. Most of the time was spent with the Tazmily kids examining the etchings on the tree excitedly, and then a few pillow fights here and there. Nobody had worn their pajamas to the 'sleepover'; they had continued to wear what they had worn that day, but nobody was really bothered since laundry day was the day after. After much discussion of random topics, Poo had offered to end the night with a short show of PK Starstorm, much to everyone's delight, though his exhaustion was evident when he finally collapsed against the tree, eyes closed and breathing heavy, but a smile gracing his face.

Ness smiled fondly at the memory of the activities they had done. Everyone had been so excited to sleep under the stars again, and Alle had been hyped about Nana finally joining them that night, though it seemed that Nana had only barely made it, judging from the way she was curled up away from Ness, still in what he presumed was her work uniform. Alle had mentioned her working at someplace until late at night.

 _Wait…_ Ness's eyes narrowed as he flexed his limbs, looking around. _Where's… Luke?_

A rustling in the leaves above made Ness look up, and he squinted. Identifying Lucas's red and yellow shoe amongst the branches and leaves, the boy quietly stood up, making sure not to wake up anyone, before grabbing onto a nearby branch and swinging himself up, accidentally making one of his shoes fall off. The shoe bonked Nichol on the head and the boy growled into his pillow before falling asleep again.

 _Wow, that was close._ With a sigh of relief, Ness precariously balanced on the tree branch he was on before looking up to find Lucas again. When he found a long fair skinned leg, he shimmied up some more until finally, he found Lucas's freckled face staring out at the ocean, looking wistful.

"DP for your thoughts?" Lucas started at Ness's voice, almost falling out of the tree. At the sight of the grinning violet eyed boy, however, the blond relaxed, shifting so that the shorter boy had enough space to sit by his side. Ness climbed up and sat a few centimeters away from him, looking at him curiously. "What's up, Luke?"

"Us, obviously." The blond replied, gesturing to their spot above most of the others with one hand.

Ness snorted. "I meant what's up with _you_."

"My hair, if you have yet to notice."

"Now you're just being a smartass."

Lucas laughed; Ness decided that it was a lovely sound to listen to, and thus, grinned goofily upon hearing it. "The pot calling the kettle black, it would seem."

"Seriously though, are you okay?" The raven haired boy appraised his companion with a thoughtful look, hands keeping his body nice and steady on the branch. "Is something bothering you? You've been rather withdrawn the whole time, man."

"I certainly was not." There was a certain petulant tone in Lucas's voice that made Ness snicker loudly, which, in turn, made the blond flush a bright red despite the darkness. "H-hey, I wasn't! Don't laugh at me! A-and nothing's bothering me!"

Ness rolled his eyes. "Sure you weren't, buddy. Was it…" _Okay, tread carefully, Ness._ "… Was it about your mom?"

"…" Lucas glanced away, biting his lip.

Ness's lips pursed in understanding. "… I won't ask further if it'll make you sad, man. I just… I dunno… I want you to know that if you… wanna talk about it… I'm here, okay?" At the blond turning to train his gaze on him, Ness rubbed the back of his neck with one hand awkwardly. "I mean, it's totally fine that you don't want to talk and all but I'm _here_ if you do, okay?"

"… I can't understand how you can be this nice, but… thank you." Lucas's gaze softened, as did his voice. Shifting a little closer, Lucas inched sideways until they were sitting right next to each other, his right thigh and knee touching Ness's left ones. Such proximity normally would have made Lucas flush a bright red in embarrassment, since it was Ness, but at the moment, he wasn't feeling embarrassed or anything. Rather, he was relishing in the quiet comfort of his friend's presence, said boy humming contentedly as they watched the water rise and sink lazily in waves.

"… Ness?"

"Yes, Luke?"

"Tell… tell me about Paula."

"Paula?" Ness blinked. "Oh. Um… what did you want to know about her?"

Lucas shifted, staring thoughtfully down at his knees for a few moments, as if deciding internally on something. In the end, however, he found himself leaning on Ness, the Onett native's shorter stature making his head rest on Ness's head, instead of Ness's shoulder. Oh well. "How did you… meet her, I guess? One of you guys mentioned having never met before going on a world-saving journey."

"That… would be Jeff's doing. I don't recall me or Poo saying that." Ness pondered the random act of closeness his friend was currently doing with heated cheeks, though he was thankful that Lucas couldn't see the maroon tinge on his cheeks. Paula had been like this as well; rather touchy-feely at times, oft leaning upon any of the three boys whenever she could.

 _Wait… why am I comparing Luke to Paula?_

Ness almost shook his head, only to stop himself just in time, remembering the blond still leaning on him. "Paula was the one who brought us all together, essentially."

"How so?"

"It was her PSI that called out to me and Jeff, and by means of extension, Poo, who was aware of his role from the beginning." Ness adjusted himself a little so that Lucas's head rested a little better on his before continuing. "She called out for me to save her from these cultists, and then she called out for Jeff to save us from our prison underground."

"Cultists?"

Ness laughed; he could practically _hear_ the confused furrow of Lucas's brow, even without looking. "Yeah. They were obsessed with the color blue, and they were all like 'blue, blue'. Pretty weird stuff, if you ask me."

At this, Lucas snorted. "Can't be as weird as waking up to the sight of your brother sitting on your torso, his face way too close for comfort."

 _"_ Oh, boy howdy." Ness grimaced; Tracy had done that to him once, just to freak him out. Needless to say, his mother wasn't very pleased when Tracy ran downstairs with a black eye. Ness hadn't intended to punch her in the face, really, he hadn't. He had just been really startled. "Tracy did that once. It wasn't pretty."

"Sibling?"

"Sister." Ness clarified. "Pretty short-"

"Has to be, if you're related."

Ness made a face. "That was _low_ , Lucas."

"As low as you?" Lucas seemed to sense that Ness was annoyed, because he managed to move away and laugh when Ness shifted and swatted at him. "Hahaha, sorry, I couldn't resist!"

"Whatever, you beanstalk." Ness rolled his eyes before scooting back to Lucas's side, as if inviting the blond to lean on him again, which he did. "Anyway, like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, she's pretty short for a girl her age, but it's scary how she's quickly becoming taller than me. Really cute, I guess. Our neighbor's little brother likes her."

"Neighbor's little brother?"

"Picky Minch. Nice kid; he's the only good Minch there, honestly speaking." Ness scratched the back of his neck with one hand. "Pokey was nice, but then he turned evil and wanted to destroy the world with Giygas, so… yeah. We used to be childhood best friends."

Lucas gave him a sideways glance, even though he knew Ness wouldn't see it because of their position. "That's sad."

"Guess it was, kinda, in a way, but I got to meet Jeff, Paula, and Poo because of them, which is good." Ness smiled softly. "And… by extension, I got to meet you because of following them here." A pregnant pause passed between the two of them as Fuel made a loud snore and Nichol made a corresponding noise of irritation. "… You and your friends, I mean. Not just _you_ because _obviously_ I also met-"

"Ness, stop, I get it."

"Sorry."

"… They still haven't placed where you guys came from on the maps, you know."

"It's weird, yeah." Ness rubbed at his cheek ruefully. "It's like the world we knew was destroyed and this is the only island for miles and miles. But that can't be true, right?"

Lucas made a slight shrugging motion with his left shoulder. "I wouldn't know. The Nowhere Islands is the only home I've known all my life and these Pigmasks are basically taking apart everything I've known and slowly replacing it with their technology."

"Modernization isn't necessarily a bad thing."

The blond sighed, his breath escaping in wisps in the cool night air. "Yes, I guess so… but it doesn't really make me all that happy."

"Hey." Ness, on impulse, grabbed Lucas's hand, which had been on the taller boy's lap, and laced their fingers together, squeezing it reassuringly. That always worked with Tracy. "That's okay. Not everything has to be something you're happy about, right? You're entitled to your own opinions about things, and if it's not okay with you, then it's not. There's nothing wrong with that. Your opinions matter."

The tips of Lucas's ears turned red at the sudden handholding Ness had initiated, but at his words, he made a small smile, his gaze tender. "… Thanks, Ness."

"For what? I was just telling the truth." Ness grinned cheekily, knowing that Lucas would know he was grinning even though they weren't looking at each other.

The two boys laughed – quietly, so that the others wouldn't be disturbed – to themselves, Lucas's head still resting on top of Ness's, their knees still touching, and their hands still laced together, watching the waves lap and crash against the large stones in the distance. Despite the chill of the night, the two boys were actually feeling rather cozy, just sitting there with each other, breathing slow and steady.

"I'm feeling kind of…" Ness yawned a little. "Sleepy now, damn. Should we climb down?"

Lucas blinked, lifting his head from its spot on top of Ness's and moving away a bit, the shorter boy immediately feeling colder at the missing contact. "You can go down, Ness. I'll be up here for a little while longer, okay?"

"Still got some things to think about, huh?" Ness finally turned to look at his friend fully, and finally noticed the redness in his friend's ears and cheeks. In the light the moonlight cast over most of the Nowhere Islands, Lucas's face was illuminated in such a way that it brought attention to his facial features, and Ness couldn't help but notice the way the sky was reflected in the blond's expressive eyes.

The stars seemed to twinkle just a little more in Lucas's eyes.

Lucas nodded, turning his head to look at Ness. "Yeah, I guess so. I can't really sleep when I'm bothered about something. You should go sleep."

"I can't just leave you up here, dude." Ness lifted a leg and straddled the branch so that he was facing Lucas fully, hands gripping the branch. "What if you fall asleep mid-thought and you fall out of the tree? Who'll be there to catch you?"

Despite himself, Lucas's ears colored a little more, but he tried to play it off with a teasing smirk. "So you're saying _you'll_ catch me if I fall?"

"Of course!" Ness declared matter-of-factly, something that startled Lucas. At his friend's look, he raised an eyebrow. "Why's that so surprising to you?"

The blond blinked again, and then rubbed the back of his neck, laughing nervously. "I-It's not _that_ surprising-"

"It was written all over your face, Luke, don't lie to me. Why were you so surprised?"

"I wasn't surprised that you'd catch me." Which _was_ true: Ness seemed to have that one 'hero' bone in his body that made him want to save everything and everyone. "I was… surprised that you answered like that."

"Like what?"

"You said 'of course'. So…" Lucas felt rather silly now, the redness spreading to his cheeks until he was pretty much crimson. "Oh, gods, I sound really stupid."

Ness gave him a lopsided grin. "Luke, c'mon, we're friends, aren't we? 'Course I'd catch you if you fell! That's why… I'm going to stay up here with you until you fall asleep!"

"… What?"

"You heard me!" Ness declared. "I'm not going to leave your side all night! You're just gonna have to suck it up and deal with me until you decide that you're going to go to sleep!"

"That might take a while."

"I'll wait for you."

Lucas's gaze softened considerably, and then without another word, he gestured for Ness to move, the Onett boy complying and scooting over to the part of the tree where all the branches met and formed a sort of bowl, the boy sliding inside and tucking his legs in, back leaning against a thicker branch. Lucas straddled the branch he had been on earlier and faced Ness, peering down at him curiously before snorting at how cute he looked. Ness, thinking that he was laughing at him, stuck his tongue out at his taller friend before crossing his arms, a hand gesturing for him to continue what he had been doing prior.

"You look cute." The words came out before Lucas could stop himself.

Ness gave him a wide eyed look. "What?"

"You heard me." _Might as well just stay true to your word, Lucas. Don't take it back or he'll think you're a butt._ "Keep that up and Richie might target you next."

"W-what?!"

"I'm just kidding." Lucas let himself slide down the branch so that he was sitting right next to Ness in the tiny space in the middle of the tree. It was rather cramped, due to Lucas's long-leggedness and Ness's stockiness. "Ness, move a bit, it's cramped."

"I was here first, you move!" Ness complained.

"Bah." Lucas stuck his tongue out at him, and Ness replied in turn, before the two boys began shifting, trying to find a comfortable position as Fuel's snores and Nichol's irritated grumbling continued to pierce the air. In the end, the most comfortable position had Lucas leaning against a particularly thick branch while Ness sat in between his legs, which kept them steady. Ness rested on his side, his head rested against Lucas's chest, his arms crossed over his knees and his legs tucked under his chin.

"This is so weird." Ness confessed.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "This?"

"Yeah. This looks so…" He thought a bit. "… gay?"

"Well, we _are_ happy, aren't we?" Lucas smiled at him brightly, all prior sad thoughts momentarily disappearing in the back of his mind as he grinned at their closeness, despite his embarrassment shining through, no thanks to his tendency to blush. "Besides, you said you wouldn't leave until I fell asleep."

"I said I'd wait until you fell asleep in case you fell." Ness corrected. "But that works too, I guess. Now go to sleep."

"What if I don't want to?"

"Go to sleep, Luke."

"No, you go to sleep."

"I will when you will!"

"Well, there's the dilemma. I won't until you will."

 **"WILL YOU TWO JUST GO THE HELL TO SLEEP?!"** Angie roared from her spot, silencing the two in the tree instantly, both of them paling at the sound of her voice. Once they were sure she had fallen asleep again, they looked at each other, Ness's head inclining so that he could meet the gaze that Lucas cast downward.

"Well, you heard her. We should _both_ get to sleep." Ness told him seriously.

Lucas rolled his eyes, but nodded a little. "Alright. Try not to move too much or we'll _both_ fall out of the tree."

"I still think this is a really weird position to sleep in."

"This was the most comfortable position for the both of us in this cramped space."

"Still!"

Sighing and shaking his head good-naturedly, Lucas did what his mother did to silence any arguments between him and Claus by pressing a kiss to Ness's hair, inconspicuously breathing in the scent of the shampoo Alle had lent the raven haired boy. It was flowery and so unlike Ness that he wanted to laugh, but it wasn't _pure_ floral: it had a little bit of 'Ness' in it too, which made him pensive. "Come on, Ness. Let's go to sleep. Better little than no sleep at all, right?"

"…" Ness was silent, and with a start, Lucas realized that he had already fallen asleep, the Onett boy's chest rising and falling slowly with each breath.

"… Heh. Goodnight, Ness." Lucas smiled into his friend's hair, and glanced around a little, as if checking for anyone looking, before wrapping his arms around Ness's torso securely, the shorter boy almost sighing at the contact.

Without another word, Lucas fell asleep as well, still breathing in the scent of Ness's hair.

* * *

 **A/N: It's been too long since I last updated, but I just couldn't get out of my South Park funk long enough to finish this in a day! Sorry you guys! [[ I'll be returning to South Park again because that's all I've been obsessed with recently, haha... ]]**

 **I have a choice between making the next chapter another Lucas and friends chapter or a Claus and Paula chapter, but I haven't decided yet. I don't really know because the story could go either way right now hahahaha**


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